Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, met with former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in Abuja on Friday to discuss the continued detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and to seek the former president’s support in securing his release.
Speaking after the closed-door meeting, Sowore disclosed that while Jonathan declined to make any public statements on the matter, he expressed concern over the lingering case and emphasized the need for a peaceful and reconciliatory resolution.
“President Jonathan said he will not be issuing any open positions but acknowledges the need to end this chapter and encourage a solution that promotes healing,” Sowore told Chronicles Reporters. “He also promised to meet President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to discuss the issue.”
In a Facebook post confirming the meeting, Sowore wrote:
“Earlier today in Abuja, I met with former President Goodluck Jonathan to discuss the continued incarceration of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
President Jonathan agreed that there is an urgent and compelling need to address this matter decisively and justly. I thank him sincerely for recognizing the importance of resolving Kanu’s case in the interest of peace, fairness, and national healing. Particularly assuring was that he promised to meet Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to discuss this issue as soon as possible.”
Sowore added that Jonathan’s stance aligns with a growing chorus of influential Nigerians — including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), and Senator Shehu Sani — who have all called for Kanu’s release as part of broader efforts toward national unity.
“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu remains in detention today because he took up the just cause of confronting the long-standing issue of marginalization in Nigeria,” Sowore said. “Like other ethnic and regional activists whose politically motivated cases have been withdrawn or dismissed, Nnamdi Kanu should also be released without further delay.”
He also called on political, religious, and cultural leaders — especially from the South-East — to join the campaign for justice.
“I invite my brothers and sisters from the South East — Peter Obi, Charles Soludo, Alex Otti, Francis Nwifuru, Peter Mbah, Hope Uzodinma, Oby Ezekwesili, and John Mbata of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide — as well as Nigerians of conscience everywhere, to lend their voices to this cause,” he appealed.
The meeting between Sowore and Jonathan comes amid renewed agitation and legal pressure for the Federal Government to comply with multiple court rulings ordering Kanu’s release.
Sowore has been at the forefront of advocacy efforts calling for Kanu’s freedom, including organizing the planned #FreeNnamdiKanu Peaceful March scheduled to hold at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on October 20.
As the political momentum around Kanu’s detention continues to build, the meeting marks what observers see as a potentially significant intervention by former President Jonathan — known for his reconciliatory approach to national conflicts.