The Indigenous People of Biafra and an Ibeku in Umuahia North LGA royal father, HRN Eze Iheonye Ibezim applauded the Nairobi, Kenya High Court over its judgement declaring the rendition of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, as illegal.
According to the Kenyan court judgement made available by Kanu’s Lawyer, Barrister. Aloy Ejimakor, the Milimani Law Court, sitting at Nairobi, Republic of Kenya court (CONSTITUTIONAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS DIVISION CONSTITUTIONAL petition no. E359 of 2021) had on the matter with case number, HCCHRPET/E359/2021, Kingsley Kanu Vs Cabinet Secretary Interior And Coordination of National Govt, Director of Immigration Services, Director of Criminal Investigation, Officer commanding Police Division Jomo Kenyatta Investigations, Officer International Airport, and the Attorney General of kenya Nairobi, Kenya Court had on Thursday, ruled that the abduction and detention of Kanu in Kenya and his subsequent rendition to Nigeria in June 2021 were unlawful and illegal
Delivering judgment, Justice E.C. Mwita held that the actions of both the Kenyan and Nigerian governments amounted to gross violations of Kanu’s fundamental human rights as protected by their respective constitutions.
The court therefore awarded Kanu the sum of 10 million Kenyan shillings in compensatory damages against the Kenyan government for its role in the unlawful abduction and rendition.
Justice E.C. Mwita said, “Having considered the pleadings and arguments by parties, the decisions relied on, the Constitution and the law, I come to the following conclusions:
“First, the government of Kenya violated the Constitution and Mr. Nnamdi Kanu’s rights and fundamental freedoms. Having entered Kenya lawfully, he was subject to the protection offered by the Constitution of Kenya 2010, and the government of Kenya had an obligation to uphold and protect his rights and fundamental freedoms.”
Reacting to the judgement, IPOB in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, described the judgment as a landmark victory, stating that it vindicates the group’s long-standing position since what it described as the “sham and farcical trial” of its leader in Nigeria.
According to the statement, “The Indigenous People of Biafra wishes to formally announce a resounding judicial earthquake that has shaken the legal foundations of the fraudulent rendition of our leader, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
“This judgement vindicates our consistent position that what transpired in Nairobi in June 2021 was not extradition but extraordinary rendition — a criminal act of state-sponsored international terrorism involving the highest authorities of the Nigerian and Kenyan governments.
“Let it be known that this is not the end. This is the beginning of a global accountability campaign. All those responsible – in Kenya, Nigeria, or elsewhere – shall be pursued to the ends of the earth under the universal principle of accountability for crimes against humanity.
“Neither British diplomatic complicity nor cowardly silence from Western powers will shield the perpetrators from the legal, diplomatic, and moral reckoning that is coming.”
Also reacting, an Ibeku traditional ruler of Amuzukwu, HRH Eze Dr. Iheonye Simeon Ibezim said, “It is a good development. There is no real Igbo man that would want Nnamdi Kanu to be there, to continue to be under incarceration. So, anything that can be done to free him, we are in support of it”.
