IN SHORT: Several posts on Facebook claim that the son of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, has won an “international brain competition”. But the claim is false.
“Nnamdi Kanu’s son has shocked the world by becoming the first child ever to win English, Mathematics, and Russian Language in an international world brain competition,” begins a post circulating on Facebook in Nigeria in early October 2025.
It also says: “The 11-year-old prodigy outshined the United Kingdom in their very own language, emerging as the champion. He went further to defeat some of the world’s strongest young minds, proving his brilliance on the global stage. This historic victory has not only placed him in the spotlight but also written his name in the record books as one of the most gifted children of his generation.”
Nnamdi Kanu is the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob), a group seeking the restoration of the Republic of Biafra.
Biafra is a region in south-eastern Nigeria. Its secession in 1967 triggered a 30-month civil war and when the war ended in January 1970, the region was reintegrated into Nigeria.
In September 2017, the Nigerian government banned Ipob and labelled it a terrorist organisation.
Kanu has been in the custody of the Department of State Services in the Nigerian capital of Abuja since June 2021, when he was arrested in Kenya and brought back to Nigeria to face trial.
He was first arrested in 2015 on charges bordering on terrorism and treasonable felony, among others. Kanu left Nigeria in 2017 after a military raid on his home. The court revoked his bail in March 2019 and ordered his re-arrest.
Little is known of Kanu’s wife and children, who reside in London, in the United Kingdom, where he also lived before his arrest.
The claim about his son also appears here, here and here. (Note: See more instances listed at the end of the report.)
But is it true? We checked.
Photo of young Namibian actor
Most of the posts making this claim feature a photo of a young boy holding a trophy and another of Kanu. However, a reverse image search of the photo reveals that it is from November 2024 at the Sotigui Awards, held in Burkina Faso.
The boy in the photo is Namibian actor Alejandro Cooper, who won the best youngest African actor award at the age of 12 for his role in the movie Lukas.
Brain bee competition scheduled for November
The International Brain Bee World Championship 2025, which the posts claim Kanu’s son won, is tentatively scheduled to take place from 7 to 12 November 2025.
According to the organisers, the competition would bring national brain bee champions from around the world together in San Diego, California, in the United States.
We found no evidence that Kanu’s son was a national brain bee champion. By 8 October, the organisation had announced six participants for the 2025 championship. This list did not include any participants from Africa.
The claim that Kanu’s son has won an international competition for particularly brainy children is false, and could pose a risk to the young actor actually pictured.
The same claim was found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
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