The Igbo community in Sokoto State has marked Christmas with a humanitarian visit to the Sokoto Correctional Centre, where the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, is being held.
In a statement issued on Thursday and signed by the Igbo community’s leadership, Nze A. C. Madu, the group said the initiative was inspired by the disposition of Kanu, whom it described as promoting inclusiveness and compassion even while in detention.
According to the statement, members of the Igbo community spent Christmas at the facility, celebrating with Kanu and other inmates, and providing festive meals for the entire prison population.
The community explained that the decision to feed all inmates was informed by Kanu’s reported preference not to dine alone during the Christmas season.
Rather than focusing on one individual, the group chose to extend the gesture to everyone at the facility.
“This benevolent act ensured that all approximately 1,300 inmates shared in the spirit of the season,” the statement said.
The leadership of the Igbo community noted that the gesture was anchored on the Igbo philosophy of Onye aghana nwanne ya (be your brother’s keeper), as well as universal values of charity, fellowship and humanity.
It explained that the outreach was purely humanitarian, carried out without regard to origin or circumstance, and aimed at offering comfort, inclusivity and goodwill during the festive period.
The Sokoto Igbo community expressed hope that the Christmas visit would promote peace, unity and a shared sense of humanity among all.
