The Ohanaeze Youth Council has announced a total lockdown across Igbo communities in Nigeria and abroad on October 20 to demand the release of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, urging unity and restraint during the peaceful protest.
The Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC) has declared a total shutdown of businesses, markets, and parks across Nigeria and abroad on Monday, October 20, 2025, to demand the release of detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
In a statement signed by its National President, Comrade Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, the OYC described the planned protest as “evidence of Igbo unity” and a peaceful stand against “injustice, marginalisation, and harassment of Ndigbo.”
“On Monday, October 20, all progressive Nigerians who value justice will rise to condemn the double standard in the Nigerian justice system,” the statement read, comparing Kanu’s treatment to that of “Boko Haram and bandit leaders in the North.”
The OYC urged Igbos worldwide to unite, stressing that the sit-at-home would be a “nonviolent show of strength.” It also appealed to South-East governors to “take a stand for justice” and called on President Bola Tinubu to act with statesmanship, warning that “the president’s actions will determine Nigeria’s unity or disintegration.”
Commending activist Omoyele Sowore for supporting the cause, Igboayaka urged restraint, saying, “If President Tinubu shows compassion, he will earn our respect. But any act of repression will further deepen Nigeria’s wounds.”
READ MORE AT SAHARA REPORTERS.