US Congressman pushes resolution to free Nnamdi Kanu

A United States congressman has called for the immediate and unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu, the imprisoned leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), during a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives. Congressman John James, a Republican from Michigan, made the appeal on Thursday, July -, 2026, framing Kanu’s detention as part of a broader pattern of religious persecution against Christians in Nigeria.

James urged his colleagues to support his resolution, H.Res. 1321, which he introduced on May 22, 2026. The resolution calls on the Nigerian government to ensure Kanu’s legal proceedings comply with constitutional and international human rights standards. James argued that Kanu deserves either a fresh trial conducted with full access to evidence, legal counsel, medical care, and humane detention conditions, or his outright release.

In his remarks, James described Nigeria as the deadliest place on earth to be a Christian, alleging that tens of thousands of Christians have been killed since 2019 in violence he said was ignored or enabled by the Nigerian government. He characterized Kanu’s conviction on terrorism charges as the result of a flawed and unjust...