The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has taken legal action against social and political commentator Reno Omokri, filing a N60 billion defamation lawsuit at the Enugu State High Court. The suit stems from accusations made by Omokri linking Kanu and IPOB to violent attacks and killings in the South-east region of Nigeria.
According to court documents filed on 31 July 2025, Kanu is suing over a 6 July social media post by Omokri on his X (formerly Twitter) handle. In that post, Omokri allegedly claimed that Kanu and members of IPOB were responsible for the deaths of Nigerian security personnel and had orchestrated attacks carried out by so-called “unknown gunmen.”
Kanu, who is currently undergoing trial for terrorism-related charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja following his 2021 repatriation from Kenya, argues that these statements were not only false but have seriously damaged his reputation. His legal team, led by P.N. Agazie, contends that Omokri’s publication paints Kanu as a violent extremist and criminal, despite the fact that no court has convicted him of such accusations.
The lawsuit states that Kanu’s legal representatives served Omokri with a pre-action notice on 10 July 2025, requesting an unreserved apology, a formal retraction of the statements in question, and a public commitment to refrain from making similar remarks in the future. However, Omokri allegedly failed to acknowledge or respond to the demand, prompting Kanu to proceed with legal action.
In his claim, Kanu is demanding a total of N60 billion in damages: N50 billion for general reputational harm and N10 billion in aggravated damages due to the alleged malicious intent behind Omokri’s post. Additionally, he is seeking a public apology and formal retraction to be published in at least two nationally circulated newspapers, as well as on all of Omokri’s social media platforms.
Furthermore, Kanu requests that the court issue a perpetual injunction preventing Omokri from publishing any further defamatory or injurious statements about him or the Indigenous People of Biafra.
As of the time of this report, the Enugu State High Court has not yet fixed a date for the hearing of the case.