Saturday, January 24, 2026 - The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has been conferred with Honorary Citizenship of the State of Georgia, United States of America.
Kanu was also adopted as an “Outstanding Citizen” to be
“accorded every courtesy as a Goodwill Ambassador from Georgia.”
The proclamation was made by Georgia’s Secretary of State,
Brad Raffensperger, on behalf of the Republican-controlled U.S. state.
According to the proclamation letter dated January 16, 2026,
the honour was presented on Friday, January 23, 2026, in Milledgeville—one of
Georgia’s capital cities—by a State Representative, Gab Okoye.
Former Consul General of Nigeria in South Africa, Ambassador
Uche Ajulu-Okeke, received the certificate on Kanu’s behalf and acknowledged
the gesture by the State of Georgia. She described the imprisoned Biafra
independence activist as “Africa’s most famous political prisoner and a global
prisoner of conscience.”
The proclamation reads in part: “I, Brad Raffensperger, Secretary of State of the State of Georgia, do hereby proclaim Nnamdi Okwu Kanu as an Honorary Georgia Citizen.
“May this Outstanding Citizen be accorded every courtesy as
a Goodwill Ambassador from Georgia in his travels to other states, to nations
beyond the borders of the United States of America, or wherever he may
hereafter travel or reside. Thank you for your service to our state.
“In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and
affixed the seal of my office, at the State Capitol, in the City of Atlanta,
this 16th day of January, A.D. 2026.”
Kanu is currently serving a life sentence at a correctional
facility in Sokoto following his conviction by Justice James Omotosho of the
Federal High Court in Abuja.
He was tried and convicted on charges of treasonable
offences, which he has consistently denied. Kanu has challenged both the
prosecution and the court to cite the law he allegedly contravened, insisting
that he was tried under a non-existent law. He has vowed to appeal the judgment
at the Court of Appeal.
Kanu was arrested in Kenya and subsequently returned to
Nigeria in 2021 during the administration of the late President Muhammadu
Buhari.
The Abia State-born Biafra activist continues to enjoy
significant global followership despite his incarceration. He has received
visits from several high-profile individuals and members of the Igbo diaspora
on solidarity visits.
Among those reported to have visited him in Sokoto are Abia
State Governor Alex Otti; the Eze Nri, revered as the custodian of Igbo
ancestral heritage in Anambra State; and the National President of the Igbo
Women Assembly, Lolo Nneka Chimezie.
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