By Lizzy Chirkpi
National Chairman of the Igbo Agenda Dialogue (IAD), Chief Dr Chekwas Okorie, has urged Biafran agitators and other freedom fighters to abandon violence and use their numerical strength and political influence to pursue self-determination and the release of detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Okorie made the appeal in a special statement dated September 15, 2026, in which he said the prolonged agitation for a separate Biafran state had reached a point where its strategy, tactics and methodology needed to be reviewed.
He acknowledged the right of people dissatisfied with Nigeria’s political situation to demand self-determination but argued that such aspirations could be pursued through peaceful and democratic means.
“I only wish to point out that the time to review the strategy, tactics, and methodology in seeking our quest for self-determination, freedom, and place of pride in Nigeria has come,” he said.
The IAD chairman said the experience of the agitation over the past decades had also resulted in significant collateral damage and economic losses in the Southeast.
He noted that various groups had pursued the Biafran cause since the emergence of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) in 1999, followed by the emergence of IPOB as a major force in 2012.
Okorie cited recent political developments in the United Kingdom, where the leaders of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales reportedly met to discuss a joint initiative concerning their future within the UK, as an example of how political demands could be pursued without violence.
He said similar initiatives could eventually be explored in Nigeria to redraw the country’s political map “at the fullness of time without violence.”
On Kanu’s continued detention, Okorie described the IPOB leader as “the symbol of Igbo dilemma in Nigeria,” arguing that his extraordinary rendition from Kenya to Nigeria in 2021 had heightened anger among many Igbo people at home and abroad.
He said repeated appeals by prominent Igbo leaders and statesmen for a political solution to Kanu’s case and his release had so far failed to yield the desired outcome.
“Prominent Igbo leaders and my humble self as well as well-meaning Nigerian statesmen have appealed to the Nigerian authorities to apply political solutions and release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and other Igbo political prisoners to foster national reconciliation,” he said.
Okorie recalled the efforts of the late President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, to secure a political resolution to the matter, alleging that his letters requesting a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu were not answered.
He added that the current Ohanaeze leadership, under Senator John Azuta-Mbata, had also sought presidential intervention.
According to Okorie, the 2027 general election provides Ndigbo with an opportunity to translate their population and geographical spread into political power.
“In the Nigerian democracy, population and spread are the most potent force for political power and relevance,” he said.
He therefore urged Ndigbo to participate massively in the 2027 elections and use their votes to make a political statement rather than resort to violence.
“When effectively deployed, we will regain our respect in Nigeria and secure what is due to us in the Federation without firing a shot,” Okorie said.
He specifically appealed to Igbo voters to use the election to demand the unconditional release of Kanu and other detained members of the separatist movement.
“I appeal to our people in the name of God to deploy the advantage the Almighty God has so graciously granted us and make a resounding political statement and secure the unconditional release of our son Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and his colleagues without having to kow-tow to anybody that will ridicule and insult us in the process,” he said.
Okorie also called on Igbo people in the diaspora to mobilise their relatives, friends and associates in Nigeria to participate in the 2027 elections.
He said the objective should be to pursue the interests of the people through democratic participation rather than violence.
“God bless Ndigbo,” the IAD chairman concluded.