Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, yesterday, petitioned the President of the United States (U.S.), Donald Trump, the African Union (AU), and several foreign governments and international organisations, seeking urgent intervention for his release from what he described as unlawful captivity by the Nigerian State.
He said the extraordinary rendition constituted a jurisdictional nullity that rendered the Federal High Court proceedings void. In the petition, which was made available to journalists, Kanu addressed the U.S., United Kingdom (UK), Canada, Germany, France, European Union, Netherlands, Sweden, Amnesty International, Red Cross, African Union, ECOWAS Court, Kenya, South Africa, Norway, Denmark, Japan, Brazil, Israel, Finland, and Austria.
The IPOB leader, who has been in detention since June 2021, claimed he has been held in solitary confinement in violation of his rights. He described himself as a “captive of the Nigerian State,” faulting the Supreme Court’s December 15, 2023, ruling, which reversed his discharge and acquittal earlier granted by the Court of Appeal on October 13, 2022. He urged the international community to compel Nigeria to respect its own laws, uphold constitutional supremacy, and adhere to stare decisis.
According to him, the Court of Appeal had earlier ruled that his extraordinary rendition from Kenya was illegal, violating the Extradition Act 2004, and nullified proceedings at the Federal High Court.
He, however, accused the Court of Appeal of illegally granting a stay of execution on October 28, 2022, which enabled his continued detention.
Also, the Concerned Citizens of Igbo Nation in Diaspora (CCIND) have called on Trump to compel the Nigerian government to release Kanu.
CCIND made the request in a statement signed by its spokesman, Emeka Livingstone, which was made available to newsmen yesterday. Entitled “Why the U.S. Department of State Needs to Act Decisively on Nigeria,” the group claimed that Kanu had been in illegal detention in Nigeria for over four years after he was kidnapped in Kenya and tortured for eight days in violation of extradition laws, international treaties, and fundamental human rights before he was forcefully brought to Nigeria.
The group recalled that on June 24, 2024, a Federal High Court in Kenya ruled that “the abduction and detention of Kanu and his subsequent rendition to Nigeria were unlawful and illegal.”
It noted that the court also awarded Kanu 10 million Kenyan shillings as compensation for damages against the government of Kenya for the illicit role it played in the abduction and rendition.(Punch)
