President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday received Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Although the agenda of the meeting was not made public at the time of filing this report, sources said it was not unconnected with ongoing efforts to secure the release of the convicted leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The engagement follows Governor Otti’s recent visit to Kanu at the Sokoto prison, where the IPOB leader is serving a life sentence.
The visit was part of a coordinated effort involving legal and political stakeholders seeking a resolution to the long-running matter.
Governor Otti was accompanied on the Sokoto visit by Kanu’s younger brother, Emmanuel Kanu; the Abia State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ikechukwu Uwanna (SAN); and his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma.
Officials of the Sokoto State Government were also present.
Since assuming office, Governor Otti has consistently maintained that resolving Nnamdi Kanu’s case remains a priority for his administration.
Following the prison visit, he reaffirmed the state’s commitment to pursuing all legitimate avenues to secure Kanu’s release.
“While Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is free to appeal his conviction, I’m happy to inform you that I have activated, and will continue to work on, the already agreed strategy until his freedom is secured,” Governor Otti said through his media aide.
Tuesday’s meeting with President Tinubu is widely interpreted as part of Otti’s ongoing political and legal strategy, aimed at advancing dialogue and exploring possible solutions at the federal level.
Observers say the engagement underscores the governor’s determination to leverage both state and national channels in seeking a resolution.
Though details of the discussions were not disclosed, the meeting signals continued high-level attention to a matter that has been a focal point of legal, political, and security discourse in Nigeria.
As the situation develops, many continue to monitor the interplay between state-led initiatives, federal engagement, and ongoing judicial processes, noting that any resolution will likely require careful navigation of political and legal sensitivities.
Nnamdi Kanu is a British-Nigerian political activist.
He began promoting Biafran separatism through Radio Biafra, a UK-based station he directed starting around 2009, and formally launched IPOB in 2014 to revive the defunct Biafra state from the Nigerian Civil War era.
Nigerian authorities arrested Kanu in 2015 on treason charges, releasing him in 2017 before he fled amid a military raid on his home; he was rearrested in 2021 and faced charges of terrorism, incitement, and affiliation with IPOB’s armed wing, the Eastern Security Network.
On November 20, 2025, a Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced him to life imprisonment on terrorism-related convictions, sparking protests and calls for his release from figures including Abia Governor Alex Otti.
