Nigerian, Kenyan govts accused of violating own laws over Nnamdi Kanu’s abduction
Aloy Ejimakor, Special Counsel to the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, on Tuesday accused the Nigerian and Kenyan governments of violating their own laws over the agitator’s arrest.
Ejimakor said Nigeria and Kenya violated their own laws and international treaties they were parties to concerning the repatriation of an accused to face prosecution in his own country.
To this end, Ejimakor said Kanu’s unconditional release is the only option left for Nigeria and Kenya regarding the illegal abduction and extraordinary rendition of the IPOB leader.
Posting on X, the lawyer insisted that Nigeria and Kenya failed to follow the procedures for repatriation as provided for in the law when Kanu was “abducted in Kenya and renditioned” to Nigeria since June 2021.
According to Ejimakor: “Nigerian & Kenyan laws, plus treaties Nigeria ratified provide steps that MUST be taken in returning an accused to face trial in another country. Failure to take such steps, like in the case of #MNK, PERMANENTLY robs the Court of jurisdiction. The only option is to #FreeMNK.”
Kanu has continued to languish in the custody of the Department of State Services, DSS, despite the ruling of an Abuja Appeal Court that ordered his immediate and unconditional release.
Discharging Kanu of all 15 counts of treason preferred against him, the court faulted the manner in which the IPOB leader was renditioned to Nigeria, declaring that it violated all known international protocols on repatriation.