Timeframe: 2017 – 2020
Location: Afaraukwu, Umuahia / Germany
Key Actors: Eze Israel Okwu Kanu, Ugoeze Sally Kanu, The Nigerian Army
Epigraph:
“They killed my father. They killed my mother. They killed my dog. They destroyed my home. And then they asked me to come to court.”
— Nnamdi Kanu, Broadcast from Exile, Jerusalem (October 2018) [1].
The Camera Lens
The palace of Eze Israel Okwu Kanu was not just a royal residence; it was a sanctuary. For decades, the Eze (King) had ruled Isiama Afaraukwu with the quiet dignity of a traditional monarch. He was an old man, frail but regal, whose life was defined by the rhythm of kola nuts and community disputes.
His wife, Ugoeze Sally Kanu, was the matriarch—the “Lolo” who ensured the palace fed the hundreds of IPOB youths who camped outside their gates to protect their son. They were not combatants. They were parents caught in the crossfire of a war they did not declare.
On the day of the Python Dance (September 2017), the sanctuary became a kill box. The camera pans over the aftermath: bullet-riddled walls, shattered windows, and the pool of blood where the palace dog, Jack, took his last breath.
The King and Queen survived the bullets, but they did not survive the shock. They were forced to flee into the bush, old and terrified, leaving behind their dignity and their home. They became internal refugees in their own kingdom.
The Disinterested Observer must examine the medical trajectory of the Monarchs. Before September 2017, both were elderly but stable. After the invasion, their health collapsed.
The trauma of the siege—the sound of gunfire, the sight of dead bodies in their compound, the forced displacement—accelerated their decline. Ugoeze Sally Kanu died in Germany in August
2019, reportedly from heart complications exacerbated by the stress of the invasion and her son’s disappearance [2]. Four months later, in December 2019, Eze Israel Kanu followed her [3].
The Forensic Verdict:
The Abia State Government and family sources publicly attributed their deaths to the trauma of the military raid [4]. In the eyes of the community (and Nnamdi Kanu), this was not “natural causes.” It was Constructive Homicide. The State had created the conditions that killed them.
This “Collateral Damage” transformed Kanu’s agitation from a political quest into a personal vendetta. He was no longer just fighting for a flag; he was fighting for the ghosts of his parents.
In the grand scale of human tragedy, the death of a dog might seem trivial. But in the narrative of the Afaraukwu siege, the killing of “Jack” became a potent symbol of the State’s ruthlessness.
Jack was the family pet. During the raid, as soldiers stormed the compound shooting at fleeing humans, they also shot the dog. Images of Jack’s lifeless body circulated on social media, becoming a viral emblem of the invasion’s brutality [5].
The Symbolism:
To the IPOB movement, the killing of the dog signified a “Scorched Earth” policy. It signaled that the Army was not there to arrest a suspect; they were there to erase a family. They killed what they could not arrest.
The death of Jack stripped the “Peacekeeping” mask off Operation Python Dance. Peacekeepers do not shoot family pets. Occupiers do.
Source: Official Press Release by Prince Emmanuel Kanu (Younger Brother).
Date: December 6, 2019.
Title: The King is Dead.
The Quote:
“My father and mother are victims of the state-sponsored terror visited on our home. They died of the shock and trauma of the invasion. The Nigerian Army killed them as surely as if they had pulled the trigger.” [6]
The Consequence:
The burial of the parents in February 2020 became a massive political statement. Nnamdi Kanu, in exile, directed the funeral via radio. The heavy military presence at the funeral only deepened the resentment of the mourners.
The Closing Argument
Chapter 11 documents the moment the Nigerian State made the conflict personal.
By invading a palace and effectively causing the deaths of a traditional ruler and his wife, the Government violated a cultural taboo. In Igboland, the desecration of a King is an abomination.
The State thought they were suppressing a rebellion. Instead, they created a blood feud. When Nnamdi Kanu re-emerged in Israel, he was not just a separatist leader; he was a grieving son with nothing left to lose.
And a man with nothing to lose is the most dangerous man in the world.
Where does a ghost go when he rises from the grave?
[1] Kanu, Nnamdi. (2018). Broadcast from Jerusalem: The Death of My Parents. [Audio Archive]. Radio Biafra.
[2] Vanguard Newspaper. (2019). Nnamdi Kanu’s mother is dead. [URL: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/10/nnamdi-kanus-mother-is-dead/]
[3] ThisDay. (2019). IPOB Leader, Nnamdi Kanu Loses Father. [URL: https://www.thisdaylive.com/2019/12/07/ipob-leader-nnamdi-kanu-loses-father/]
[4] Punch Newspapers. (2019). Nnamdi Kanu’s father dies, IPOB blames army. [URL: https://punchng.com/nnamdi-kanus-father-dies-ipob-blames-army/]
[5] Sahara Reporters. (2017). Viral Image of Nnamdi Kanu’s Dog Killed During Military Raid. (Contextual reference to social media circulation).
[6] Emmanuel Kanu. (2019). Press Statement on the Death of Eze Israel Kanu. Umuahia.