The American Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID), a 501(c)(19) non-profit organization comprising honorably discharged United States military veterans of Igbo ancestry, has issued a strongly worded condemnation of the assassination of His Royal Majesty, Oba Kehinde Falodun, the Alagamo of Agamo Community in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State.
In a press release dated February 19, 2026, signed by President Dr. Sylvester Onyia and Secretary Dr. Godson Obiagwu, AVID described the killing—carried out on February 18, 2026, inside the monarch’s palace by suspected Fulani armed men—as “cold-blooded” and “preventable.” The group extended its deepest condolences to the immediate family of the late traditional ruler, the people of Agamo, the entire Ondo State, and the Yoruba nation at large.
Eyewitness accounts cited in the statement indicate that the assailants, speaking Hausa and operating in a manner consistent with patterns previously documented in attacks across Nigeria’s Middle Belt and Southwest, invaded the palace and executed the king before escaping. No group has claimed responsibility, but local security sources and community leaders have pointed to the involvement of nomadic Fulani militias commonly referred to as “bandits” in official Nigerian security parlance.
AVID’s statement goes beyond mourning to draw a direct link between the murder and the continued detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The organization asserts that Kanu has, for more than a decade, consistently warned—through Radio Biafra broadcasts and court testimony—of a coordinated Fulani jihadist agenda aimed at seizing land, displacing indigenous communities, and imposing demographic and cultural dominance across Nigeria.
“Those warnings were not hate speech; they were accurate intelligence ignored at Nigeria’s peril,” the release states. “The very judge who presided over Mazi Kanu’s case and handed him a life sentence on trumped-up terrorism and treason charges—Justice James Omotosho, an indigene of Ondo State—now watches these same Fulani terrorists strike at the heart of his own community.”
The statement argues that the refusal of Yoruba political leaders and judicial authorities to support Kanu’s unconditional release has emboldened the same terrorist elements now targeting Yoruba communities. It accuses Yoruba elites of prioritizing ethnic rivalry over national survival, framing the Igbo self-determination movement as the primary threat while downplaying the Fulani militia danger until it reached their doorstep.
AVID further claims that the formation and activities of IPOB’s Eastern Security Network (ESN) had previously deterred similar incursions into Igbo-speaking areas, while the Southwest has suffered repeated attacks on traditional rulers, farmers, and villagers. The group insists that Kanu’s detention has removed the only voice and organized resistance that truly frightens the perpetrators and their alleged sponsors within government structures.
The veterans’ organization issued four specific demands:
The immediate and unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from detention in Sokoto prison.
An international, independent investigation into the Fulani terrorist network operating with apparent impunity across Nigeria.
A public call by Yoruba leaders—including Southwest governors and traditional rulers—to join the demand for Kanu’s freedom and abandon the narrative that positions Igbo self-determination as their primary enemy.
Diplomatic pressure from the United States Government and the international community on Nigeria to end what AVID describes as selective justice and state-sponsored insecurity.
Dr. Sylvester Onyia, President of AVID, emphasized the group’s unique perspective as American military veterans: “We have sworn to defend life, liberty, and justice—both in the United States and for our ancestral homeland. We cannot remain silent while our kith and kin in Nigeria are hunted like animals. The time for political games is over. Release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu now—the security and survival of every Nigerian community, Yoruba, Igbo, and beyond, depends on it.”
The statement concludes with a defiant tone: “Biafra’s light will continue to expose darkness. Justice delayed is justice denied—but justice for Nnamdi Kanu is peace for Nigeria.”
The release has already generated significant attention within Nigerian diaspora communities in the United States, particularly among Igbo organizations and veterans’ networks. It also reflects growing frustration among some Igbo advocacy groups that the Nigerian government’s handling of Kanu’s case—despite multiple court rulings ordering his release—has contributed to escalating insecurity nationwide.
Neither the Nigerian federal government, the Ondo State Government, nor the Presidency has issued an official response to AVID’s statement as of February 19, 2026. The murder of Oba Kehinde Falodun remains under active investigation by the Ondo State Police Command and the Department of State Services (DSS), with no arrests announced at the time of this report.
The incident is the latest in a series of attacks on traditional rulers in the Southwest, following similar killings in Ekiti, Ogun, and Osun states in recent years. Security analysts have repeatedly linked these incidents to escalating farmer-herder conflicts, land disputes, and the activities of armed groups operating under the guise of pastoralism.
As the nation grapples with these overlapping crises, AVID’s intervention highlights the transnational dimension of Nigeria’s security challenges and the role of diaspora advocacy in amplifying calls for justice and institutional reform.
