|By Adejumo Adekunle-
-Questions why Buhari impersonation claim was never part of charges against Kanu
A human rights lawyer, Barrister Christopher Chidera, has strongly criticised a recent article targeting Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), calling it a “malicious publication” laced with falsehood and designed to manipulate public perception.
The article, titled How Nnamdi Kanu Sought to Please South-Easterners with Hilarious Propaganda, was dismissed by Chidera as a “hatchet job” that reflects ignorance, deception, and what he described as a subtle disdain for truth.
Speaking in defence of Kanu, the lawyer said the publication was part of a deliberate media onslaught aimed at discrediting the IPOB leader and eroding his influence among the Igbo people. He alleged that the campaign was sponsored by British interests to weaken Kanu’s impact on the collective psyche of his people and undermine his ability to awaken them to what he termed “the Nigerian deception.”
“The goal is to demystify Kanu,” Chidera asserted. “They want to paint him as a peddler of conspiracy theories and disconnect him from his followers.”
According to him, Nnamdi Kanu’s imprisonment has nothing to do with lies or propaganda, but everything to do with his truth-telling and consistency in confronting Nigeria’s ruling establishment.
“Kanu doesn’t need propaganda to earn his people’s loyalty,” Chidera said. “He has the truth. He has consistency. He has suffered more in pursuit of freedom than all these cowardly pen-wielders combined. He was abducted, tortured, renditioned, and yet he remains unbroken — while his critics remain unknown, irrelevant, and afraid.”
The lawyer challenged the article’s failure to address why the Nigerian government has never officially charged Kanu with the widely-circulated allegation that President Muhammadu Buhari died in 2017 and was replaced by a Sudanese body double. Instead, he noted, the former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), only charged Kanu for calling Buhari names — not for pushing what authorities have consistently dismissed as falsehood.
“If Kanu is so full of ‘hilarious propaganda’, why did the government avoid the biggest of his claims?” he asked. “Why not confront it in court and put it to rest? Why sidestep it if it’s so ridiculous?”
Chidera also addressed a section of Igbos whom he called “Efulefu” — a derogatory Igbo term for those who betray their own. He accused them of enabling state oppression through silence or complicity.
“To the Efulefu Igbos who cheer this garbage: understand that you are dancing on the graves of your ancestors,” he said. “Your cowardice, not Kanu, is the real enemy.”
He further questioned the authenticity of the article’s author, who goes by the name “Pephel”, arguing that the name itself lacks any cultural resonance with the Igbo people.
“For those who understand Igbo naming patterns, ‘Pephel’ is a red flag. This isn’t an Igbo voice. It’s either an outsider pretending to sound native or, worse, a lost Igbo soul who has traded heritage for crumbs from his slave master’s table,” he said.
Chidera used the opportunity to urge deeper critical thinking among Africans, warning that blind obedience and uncritical acceptance of authority are the true enemies of progress.
“Africa’s biggest curse isn’t colonialism — it’s our refusal to think,” he said. “Until Black Africans learn to reason critically, challenge authority, and demand evidence over emotion, we will remain trapped — not by foreign hands, but by our own mental laziness.”
