Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has petitioned former U.S. President Donald Trump, the African Union, and several foreign governments and international organisations, seeking urgent intervention for his release from what he described as “unlawful captivity” by the Nigerian State.
In the petition, made public on Wednesday, Kanu argued that his extraordinary rendition from Kenya was illegal and rendered proceedings at the Federal High Court void. He addressed the plea to the governments of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, the European Union, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Japan, Brazil, Israel, Finland, Austria, South Africa, and Kenya, as well as Amnesty International, the Red Cross, the African Union, and the ECOWAS Court.
Kanu, who has been in detention since June 2021, said he has been held in solitary confinement in violation of his rights, describing himself as a “captive of the Nigerian State.” He faulted the Supreme Court’s December 15, 2023 ruling, which overturned his discharge and acquittal earlier granted by the Court of Appeal on October 13, 2022.
He accused the Court of Appeal of acting illegally by granting a stay of execution on October 28, 2022, which prolonged his detention. “This decision is a barbaric and illegal act, wholly unknown to criminal law jurisprudence anywhere in the world. It constitutes constitutional criminality of the highest order,” he said, citing legal authorities that prohibit stays of execution in criminal proceedings.
According to him, his detention between October 2022 and December 2023 was arbitrary and violated Section 35 of the Nigerian Constitution, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the African Charter. He also described the Supreme Court’s December 15, 2023 decision to remit his case for trial as unconstitutional and tantamount to double jeopardy.
Kanu accused the Nigerian judiciary of “reckless lawlessness and political bias” against IPOB, citing findings by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. He also blamed the United Kingdom, saying that as a British citizen, his rights under international law were violated while the UK failed to intervene.
He urged the international community to compel Nigeria to respect constitutional supremacy and enforce the Court of Appeal’s ruling. He requested that his detention be declared unlawful, the October 28, 2022 stay nullified, and his immediate release secured.
“My 14-month arbitrary detention, enabled by UK inaction, exposes discriminatory neglect and judicial lawlessness,” Kanu stated. “Your urgent intervention is critical to halt my persecution, uphold constitutional governance, and prevent my possible death in custody.”
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