The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, has expressed his intention to confer a traditional turbaning honour on the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
This unexpected development was disclosed by the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, following his visit to Kanu at the Sokoto Correctional Centre on Sunday.
Governor Otti, who embarked on what he described as an important trip to Sokoto to discuss Kanu’s prolonged detention, said the Sultan demonstrated strong support for efforts aimed at securing Kanu’s release and reducing tension across the country. He described the Sultan as a key national figure committed to promoting unity and peaceful coexistence.
During the visit, Otti shared a lighter moment from his private conversation with the Sultan.
“On a lighter note, the Sultan of Sokoto told me that you are now his subject and he was going to turban you,” Otti told Kanu. The remark reportedly drew hearty laughter from the IPOB leader—an uncommon moment of relief amid his long-running legal challenges.
The proposed turbaning ceremony—an important cultural tradition in Northern Nigeria that confers status and formally integrates an honoree into the Sultanate’s council—is being widely interpreted as a powerful symbolic gesture. Analysts say it could serve as a significant step toward national reconciliation, unity, and bridge-building between regions historically marked by political and ideological tensions.
