The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Tuesday, the 20th of January, 2026, organised rallies across parts of the South-East to express solidarity with United States President, Donald Trump.
The demonstrations, described as ‘Trump Solidarity Rallies,’ took place simultaneously in Abia, Anambra and Ebonyi states.
It was gathered that this is not the first time IPOB members have publicly shown support for Trump, as similar rallies were held during his first tenure as U.S. President. Notably, in 2017, some IPOB supporters lost their lives during clashes with soldiers at a Trump solidarity rally in Port Harcourt.
The renewed protests come amid recent allegations by the Nigerian government linking IPOB supporters to the promotion of the Christian genocide narrative in Nigeria, a claim believed to have influenced President Trump’s decision to classify Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern.’
That same narrative reportedly formed part of the justification for the Christmas Day U.S. airstrikes on terrorist hideouts in North-West Nigeria, following Trump’s earlier threats of military action over alleged killings of Christians.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the 20th of January, IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, said participants at the rallies also renewed calls for the release of the group’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
Kanu is currently serving a life sentence after being convicted on terrorism-related charges by the Nigerian government. IPOB and Kanu’s legal team have consistently rejected the conviction, describing it as unlawful.
According to Powerful, the rallies were also organised to honour IPOB members who were killed during the 2017 Trump solidarity rally in Port Harcourt.
The statement read, “The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the global family of Biafrans wish to inform the general public and the international community that a Trump Solidarity Rally and peaceful march was held today, 20 January, across three locations in the South-East Abia, Anambra and Ebonyi states.
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“Youths, women, and elders came out in large numbers to peacefully demonstrate in solidarity and in remembrance of our people who were brutally killed exactly nine years ago during the first inauguration of President Donald Trump, when Nigerian soldiers acting under the directives of the then-ruling APC-led government opened fire on unarmed Biafran demonstrators.
“Despite the ongoing and relentless pogrom in Biafraland, and the atmosphere of intimidation, persecution and insecurity deliberately imposed on the South-East, Biafrans continue to defy fear and oppression to affirm one truth: a people determined to be free cannot be permanently subdued. The resolve of Biafrans to live as free people in the land of their ancestors remains unbroken.
“During the peaceful rally, participants carried placards, banners and photographs of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and renewed their demand for his immediate and unconditional release, insisting that his continued detention remains a major catalyst for tension and instability.
“The rallying crowd also called for an independent inquiry into the Port Harcourt killings and the wider, worsening insecurity ravaging the South-East, stressing that truth, accountability and justice are indispensable to peace.”
IPOB reaffirmed that all its actions are peaceful and lawful.
“We urge the security agencies to respect the fundamental rights of citizens to peaceful assembly, and we call on the international community to take urgent interest in the deteriorating human rights situation in the South-East of Nigeria,” the statement concluded.