Aloy Ejimakor, special counsel to Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has urged Bianca Ojukwu, the newly appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, to leverage her position to recommend that President Bola Tinubu release Kanu.

Ejimakor said he believed that as the widow of the late Biafran leader, Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, Bianca will inform the president about the harm Kanu’s ongoing detention is causing to Nigeria’s international reputation.

In a post shared on his X handle on Saturday, Ejimakor wrote: “I told @DailyPostNGR that: ‘As the new Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Ojukwu is now in a position to, without hesitation, advise President Tinubu on the significant damage the continued detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is doing to Nigeria’s image abroad’.”

This development comes amid ongoing debates about Kanu’s detention, with some arguing that it’s a clear indication of Nigeria’s “Igbo problem”.

Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, had also weighed in, stating that Kanu’s detention is a result of the post-civil war treatment meted out to the Igbo people.

Sowore had expressed disappointment that President Tinubu’s administration had continued Kanu’s detention, despite expectations of a different approach.

The controversy surrounding Kanu’s detention has sparked intense discussions, with many Nigerians, international bodies and groups advocating for his release by the government.

While Ejimakor’s statement offers a glimmer of hope for Kanu’s supporters, the situation remains complex and sensitive.