IN SHORT: Nnamdi Kanu, leader of separatist group the Indigenous People of Biafra, has been in detention in Nigeria since his arrest in 2021. But there is no evidence for recent claims that his wife and son have been arrested.
Several social media users have claimed that Nnamdi Kanu’s wife and son have been arrested by the Nigerian government.
Kanu is the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, or Ipob, a separatist group seeking the restoration of the Republic of Biafra in southeastern Nigeria. The region seceded from Nigeria in 1967, sparking a 30-month civil war.
Part of a post on 17 April 2025 reads: “Nnamdi Kanu’s wife has just been arrested by Nigerian authorities at the Lagos Airport the moment she landed to visit her husband. Her young son, who was coming to see his father for the first time, was also taken. They have reportedly been moved to the DSS headquarters in Abuja for interrogation.”
DSS stands for the Department of State Services. It’s Nigeria’s domestic intelligence and security agency,
Kanu was first arrested in October 2015 on charges bordering on terrorism and treasonable felony, among others, because of agitating for the secession of Biafra.
He has been in custody since June 2021, when he was re-arrested in Kenya and brought back to Nigeria to continue facing trial.
The claim that Kanu’s wife and son have been detailed was also found here and here. (Note: See more instances at the end of this report.)
But is it true? We checked.
False claim
Africa Check could find no reliable news reports about the Nigerian government arresting Kanu’s wife and son. And it is unlikely that the media would not report on this story if it were true. It would be expected that arresting family members of a high-profile public figure would garner wide news coverage.
And Uchechi Okwu-Kanu, Nnamdi Kanu’s wife, is no stranger to news coverage. In 2024, she reportedly described the Ipob political wing as a “sham” and visited her husband in detention.
Most recently, in March 2025, she reportedly commented on her husband’s apology regarding events in Justice Binta Nyako’s court.
The Facebook page, Express, who shared the claim has shared false information in the past, which Africa Check has debunked.
Okwu-Kanu also currently appears to be active on social media. Her X account was created in 2014, coinciding with when Ipob was founded by her husband, and has a large following.
On 21 April 2025 she questioned Hope Uzondinma, governor of Imo state, about why her husband should remain in detention.
The suspicious viral claim surfaced on 17 April, days before Okwu-Kanu’s X post. It is unlikely that she was under arrest at the time, and her social media accounts make no mention of anything related to it.
The same claim was found here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
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