Rally in support of secessionist leader Nnamdi Kanu held in Nigeria's Abia state, not Oyo
- Published on July 2, 2026 at 14:03
- 4 min read
- By Oluseyi AWOJULUGBE
Nnamdi Kanu, the founder of the Indigenous People of Biafra, a separatist movement advocating for the secession of southeastern Nigeria, was imprisoned for life in November on terrorism charges. Kanu’s supporters have shared a video claiming that it shows marchers in the southwestern state of Oyo demanding his release from prison and government action on rampant kidnappings. However, the claim is false; the clip shows a demonstration organised in Kanu’s stronghold of Abia, in Nigeria’s southeast, in March.
“People of Oyo State took to the streets today in anger after the abduction and k!lling of innocent citizens. Protesters marched boldly, chanting, ‘Tinubu, free Nnamdi Kanu now’. The message from the streets is clear: many Yoruba people are becoming more outspoken and politically awakened about insecurity and justice in Nigeria (sic),” reads a post published on May 21, 2026.
Oyo is a state in Nigeria’s southwest, a region where most Yoruba people live and distinctly different from the Igbo tribe in the southeast where Kanu hails from.
Shared more than 900 times on X, the clip shows people, mostly men, walking down a road with banners and chanting Kanu’s name.
Kanu, who led a secessionist movement for the creation of a Biafran republic for the Igbo people in southeastern Nigeria, was sentenced to life imprisonment in November 2025 following his conviction on terrorism charges (archived here).
The post references not only Kanu but the kidnapping of at least 46 children and staff from three schools in Oyo state on May 15, in an attack the army said was carried out by jihadists (archived here).
Child abduction for ransom, which is a common occurrence in Nigeria’s conflict-ridden northern region, is unusual in the south.
While there have been protests by teachers calling on the government to secure the release of the victims and put an end to school kidnappings, the clip of the pro-Kanu rally is unrelated to these events (archived here).
One-million man march
A reverse image search of keyframes extracted from the video led to photos of the same demonstration posted on Facebook on March 12, 2026 — two months before the mass kidnappings in Oyo state (archived here).
The caption says the images were taken during a “million man march” in Aba, a major commercial city in Abia state.
Million-man marches are typically organised in Nigeria to demonstrate displeasure or support for a cause (archived here and here).
The Facebook images show marchers carrying banners reading: “Coalition of lovers of freedom. Free our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.”
An identical banner appears at the 45-second mark in the clip.
The BBC Igbo service reported that Omoyele Sowore, an activist and owner of media organisation Sahara Reporters, joined the rally (archived here).
The banner is also visible in the featured image in the BBC article published on March 12, 2026, which coincides with the date of the Facebook post.
AFP Fact Check examined the footage and identified a building named “Dr Uma Ukpai Plaza” 34 seconds into the video.
Ukpai, an evangelist who hailed from Abia, died in October 2025 (archived here).
A Google keyword search showed that the building is located within a larger commercial site known as the Ariaria International Market in Aba.
The market has undergone a significant makeover since 2020, which is the last recorded Street View imagery on Google Maps.
Despite the market’s overhaul, AFP Fact Check found matching landmarks. For instance, a building with a blue roof and orange-and-green pillars appears in the video and on Street View.
Likewise, two nearby buildings with green roofs and blue and brown patterned pillars.
Although there is no satellite imagery of the Dr Uma Ukpai Plaza structure itself, AFP Fact Check found addresses of other businesses located within the building (archived here and here).
A Facebook post eulogising Uma Ukpai, a local preacher after whom the building is named, confirms the location of the plaza in Aba, Abia state, and not in Oyo (archived here).
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