The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has described a recent declaration by Islamic cleric Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir that Nigeria is a Muslim country as further vindication of warnings it said its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, had issued for more than a decade.
IPOB made the position known in a statement issued on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, by its spokesperson and Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful.
The group alleged that Jingir’s remarks, including the description of Christians as “infidels” and an apparent suggestion that those opposed to a Muslim-Muslim political arrangement should leave the country, reflected what it described as a growing attempt to alter Nigeria’s religious character.
According to IPOB, the statement by the cleric should not be dismissed as an isolated comment, arguing that it raises broader questions about religious freedom, constitutional governance and the rights of citizens belonging to different faiths.
The group also used the opportunity to defend Kanu, insisting that he is not a terrorist but a “whistleblower” whose warnings about what it described as an Islamisation agenda had been ignored by successive governments.
IPOB further alleged that Kanu had suffered serious violations of his rights since his extraordinary rendition from Kenya to Nigeria, including continued detention after a 2022 Court of Appeal judgment that the group said discharged him.
The organisation also challenged the legal basis of Kanu’s subsequent prosecution and conviction, arguing that he was convicted under laws that IPOB claims were either repealed or incapable of sustaining the criminal proceedings.
It alleged that a civil stay of execution was subsequently used to frustrate the effect of the Court of Appeal’s decision, describing the development as an unprecedented judicial procedure.
IPOB further claimed that Kanu’s subsequent re-arraignment and eventual life sentence represented a broader failure of due process and the rule of law.
The group said it had also drawn the attention of international institutions, including the United States Congress and the Israeli Knesset, to what it described as the persecution of Kanu and alleged plans to Islamise non-Muslim populations in Nigeria.
According to IPOB, Sheikh Jingir’s latest remarks have made it necessary for the international community to take a closer look at the religious and political tensions in Nigeria.
The group asked the Nigerian Government to clarify whether the country remains a secular constitutional republic in which citizens of different religious backgrounds enjoy equal rights, or whether the country is being treated as belonging to a particular religious constituency.
“The Nigerian Government must tell the world which one it stands by,” IPOB said.
The organisation also linked its concerns to the activities of jihadist groups and bandits in parts of the country, particularly what it described as the expansion of violent groups into indigenous communities in southern Nigeria.
IPOB argued that Kanu’s previous warnings about insecurity, religious domination and the alleged marginalisation of Christians should be reconsidered in light of recent developments.
The group maintained that imprisoning Kanu would not erase the issues he had raised, insisting that his detention had only increased international attention on his case.
IPOB concluded by calling for renewed attention to the principles of the rule of law, religious equality, judicial independence, self-determination and government accountability.
The group said the issues surrounding Kanu’s case went beyond one individual, arguing that the outcome could have implications for every Nigerian who relies on constitutional protections and the justice system.
“The world is watching. History is recording. Justice is inevitable,” IPOB stated.
The claims contained in the statement represent IPOB’s position and allegations. They were not independently established in the statement.
