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A 99-year-old woman from the Afaraukwu community in the Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State has appealed to the Nigerian government to release the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Mrs Sarah Nwanyisunday Oparaocha, a native of Etitinabu Na Ndagbo in Afaraukwu, made the appeal on Saturday while speaking to journalists, including News Central, at her residence.
Oparaocha said it was her final wish to see Kanu return to his hometown while she is still alive.
“I will soon clock 100 years. I weep every morning during my prayers because of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,” she said in Igbo.
“I am pleading with the Nigerian government to release him so I can see him before God calls me.”
The nonagenarian said she prays daily for God to touch the hearts of Nigerian leaders to allow Kanu to return to his community.
“I am now 99 years old and will soon be 100 years but my prayers now is to see Nnamdi Kanu with my eyes before God will eventually call me.
“Nobody knows when God will call but I will be happy if I see Kanu before that time,” she said.
Her appeal came on the same day members of the Afaraukwu community held a meeting to demand the release of their son.
Kanu, who hails from Afaraukwu, was recently sentenced to life imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Abuja for terrorism.
Justice James Omotosho handed down the sentence in November 2025, convicting Kanu on Counts 4, 5, and 6 of a seven-count terrorism charge and sentencing him to an additional 20 years for Count 3. He remains in the custody of the Department of State Services.
Oparaocha advised young people to adopt traditional diets to promote longevity.
She urged them to eat natural, native foods, warning that the consumption of unwholesome foods could damage the body system.
