The AAC governorship aspirant says she would make seeking a pardon for the convicted IPOB leader one of her priorities if elected Abia governor in 2027.
African Action Congress (AAC) governorship aspirant in Abia State, Doris Ogala, has expressed support for incarcerated Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu, describing him as a “messiah” and urging President Bola Tinubu to secure his release.
She spoke about her political ambition, her party’s position on Mr Kanu’s incarceration and what she said an AAC-led government would mean for the IPOB leader.
“I support what Nnamdi Kanu is doing 100 per cent because he is like a messiah; he is like a prophet that we didn’t see coming,” she said.
According to Ms Ogala, several statements and predictions previously made by Mr Kanu about Nigeria had subsequently become realities.
“Everything he has prophesied has come to pass. Everything he said is what is happening today,” she said.
Mr Kanu’s legal troubles date back to 2015, when Nigerian authorities arrested and charged him over his separatist activities.
He was subsequently granted bail in 2017 but left Nigeria following a military operation around his residence in Abia State that year.
Mr Kanu resurfaced abroad and continued his campaign for an independent Biafra before he was arrested in Kenya and returned to Nigeria in June 2021.
His long-running trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja ended in November 2025 when Justice James Omotosho convicted him on seven terrorism-related counts.
The court sentenced him to life imprisonment on several counts, with additional prison terms imposed on others to run concurrently.
The court held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, including allegations relating to Mr Kanu’s broadcasts, threats and sit-at-home directives associated with IPOB activities.
Mr Kanu rejected the allegations and challenged the legality of the proceedings against him.
The Court of Appeal subsequently struck out a separate fundamental-rights appeal filed by Mr Kanu against the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Attorney-General of the Federation, holding that the matter had become academic following his conviction and transfer to prison custody.
Despite Mr Kanu’s conviction, Ms Ogala said one of her priorities if elected Abia governor in 2027 would be to advocate for his freedom.
“If I am the governor of Abia State, the first thing I will seek is Nnamdi Kanu’s pardon,” she said.
An Abia governor cannot unilaterally order Mr Kanu’s release from a sentence imposed following a federal prosecution. Ms Ogala’s proposed intervention would, therefore, involve advocating for clemency rather than exercising a direct power to free him.
Ms Ogala also linked Mr Kanu’s prospects of regaining his freedom to Omoyele Sowore, a leading figure in the AAC who has previously contested the Nigerian presidency on the party’s platform.
She said she believed Mr Sowore would release the IPOB leader if he became president.
“I know that if my president, Omoyele Sowore, who has shown his public support for Nnamdi Kanu, becomes the president, he will release Nnamdi Kanu that same day,” she said.
Ms Ogala said the AAC opposed Mr Kanu’s continued incarceration and declared her personal support for him.
“We are fully behind Nnamdi Kanu. I support him, not only because he is the leader of IPOB, but also because he is my brother, and I support him 100 per cent,” she said.
Ms Ogala also directly appealed to President Tinubu to reconsider Mr Kanu’s continued imprisonment.
“I am telling the president, their president now, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to, with immediate effect, visit Nnamdi Kanu’s imprisonment and get him released,” she said.
She reiterated that Mr Tinubu should “revisit Nnamdi Kanu’s imprisonment” and secure his release.
In a separate video posted on her Instagram page, Ms Ogala intensified her criticism of Mr Otti over outstanding financial obligations to Abia retirees.
Reacting to reports that the state government had commenced payments to retirees, she claimed the development demonstrated the impact of pressure on the administration.
“I just woke up this morning and saw that Alex Otti has started paying the pension arrears. One thing is clear: Doris is here to liberate her people. I play a lot, but I do not take the welfare of my people [lightly],” she said.
The latest payment announced by the Abia government, however, concerns outstanding gratuities, rather than current pension payments.
Ms Ogala also referenced an encounter involving Ifeanyi Okali, owner of ABN TV, and the governor over retirees’ entitlements.
