The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has condemned in strong terms the Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo for criticising the Labour Party chieftain, Peter Obi over his recent call for the release of IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
In a statement issued on Monday, June 15, 2026, IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful accused Soludo of “betrayal” and “political chameleonic behaviour,” saying the governor had previously called for Kanu’s release and has now changed his stance.
IPOB cited two earlier incidents in support of its claim:
“Soludo visited Kanu in the DSS facility in Abuja on May 13, 2022 and publicly appealed for his release, even offering to stand as surety.
Law Mefor, Soludo’s Commissioner for Information, said in March 2025 that the governor was “working diligently for Kanu’s release” to restore peace in the South-East.
The group compared this to Soludo’s recent reaction to Peter Obi’s call for the “immediate and unconditional release” of Kanu which the Anambra government described as “a slap on the Nigerian judiciary.” IPOB described the position as “the height of treachery” and linked it to Soludo’s alleged ambition to be vice president in 2031.
“Governor Soludo, what happened all of a sudden? It was your blind and shameless ambition that changed. “You have now opted to sacrifice Mazi Nnamdi Kanu on the altar of caliphate appeasement,” the statement said.
IPOB said Kanu’s detention was “illegal” and in “violation of court orders”, and that Soludo’s position was a “insult” to late Igbo leaders, including Mbazulike Amaechi, former Ohanaeze Ndigbo President George Obiozor and Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, who had called for Kanu’s release.
The group also said the demand for Kanu’s release “is not an Igbo affair alone” and cited support from Yoruba cleric Prophet Ayodele and “well-meaning Nigerians” in other regions.
But IPOB warned Soludo, “The Igbo nation has a long memory, your northern masters will never trust a proven betrayer of his own people.
Since June 2021, Nnamdi Kanu has been held by the DSS and faces charges of terrorism and treason, which he denies. The same case has been appealed in several courts and is still before the judiciary.
