By Nwabueze Okonkwo
ONITSHA – The leadership of the Biafra Independence Movement/Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (BIM/MASSOB) has officially announced that their leader and the esteemed Ijele Ndigbo, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, has willingly offered to testify in court as a defense witness for Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who is currently facing treason charges.
In a statement circulated on Sunday via WhatsApp, BIM/MASSOB described this move as a “practical and strategic response” to the ongoing issues related to Kanu’s extended incarceration.
Signed by Mazi Chris Mocha, the group’s Director of Information and Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, the statement urged prominent Igbo organizations, including Ohanaeze Ndigbo and the Igbo National Assembly, to actively oppose the continued suppression of their people and raise their voices in defense of Kanu.
Uwazuruike, a highly regarded figure from Eastern Nigeria, is well-known for his unwavering opposition to the marginalization of the Igbo community. BIM/MASSOB highlighted that he leads a peaceful, non-secessionist movement advocating for the rights of Igbo-speaking populations across the South-East and neighboring states such as Delta, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, and Bayelsa. The group also emphasized Uwazuruike’s consistent criticism of the Nigerian government’s inconsistent treatment of ethnic leaders.
The statement recalled a significant moment in 2007 when Uwazuruike was granted partial bail by a Federal High Court in Abuja after enduring over two years in solitary confinement. He was temporarily released to attend his late mother’s funeral but questioned the fairness of his release while ten of his comrades, including Comrade Uchenna Madu and Mr. Ambrose Anyaso, remained imprisoned at Keffi Prison.
Following the burial on January 19, 2008, Uwazuruike voluntarily returned to the Imo State Police Command in Owerri on January 22, demanding to be re-arrested. He was quoted saying, “It would be unjust for me to remain free while my fellow activists, charged with the same offenses, continue to suffer in detention.”
BIM/MASSOB further pointed out Uwazuruike’s condemnation of the government’s double standards, noting that while leaders of other ethnic groups-such as Alhaji Asari Dokubo of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVF) and Dr. Frederick Fasehun and Otunba Gani Adams of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC)-were released along with their followers, his own members remained behind bars.
When the then Imo State Deputy Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Yusuf, declined to re-arrest him, Uwazuruike reportedly sat outside the police headquarters in Owerri for several hours, steadfast in his demand to be taken back into custody.
Recognized as the successor to the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Uwazuruike recently made headlines by publicly declaring in a widely shared live video his intention to serve as a defense witness for Nnamdi Kanu. BIM/MASSOB praised this decision as a “calm, constructive, and courageous step” toward seeking justice for the IPOB leader.
The organization concluded by calling on all Igbo socio-political bodies, including South-East governors and lawmakers, to unite in protesting the ongoing injustices against their people and to vocally support their leaders.