Nigerian separatist leader’s brother loses London court challenge
Nnamdi Kanu’s family argued in court that he was subject to extraordinary rendition from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021.
The family of imprisoned Biafran separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu lost a court case against the British government in a London court regarding his detention in Nigeria.
Kanu’s brother Kingsley Kanu had launched a judicial review against the British Foreign Office for alleged refusal to recognize that Nnamdi Kanu, who holds Nigerian and British nationality, was subject to extraordinary rendition from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021.
Kingsley Kanu’s lawyers argued that the State Department should reach a judgment on whether his brother was a victim of extraordinary rendition so that it could properly assess how to assist the family.
Judge Jonathan Swift dismissed the case on Thursday, saying the State Department’s decision not to take a firm stand on Nnamdi Kanu’s treatment, whether private or public, was a matter for the government.
However, the judge added that the UK government’s approach will now also be based on a ruling by the Court of Appeal of Nigeria on October 13 that found Nnamdi Kanu had been unlawfully kidnapped and sent to Nigeria.
The Nigerian Court of Appeal has also dropped seven charges against Nnamdi Kanu, who is in detention awaiting an appeal against that decision by the Nigerian government.
The British Foreign Office and Kingsley Kanu’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nnamdi Kanu founded the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to push for the secession of the homeland of the Igbo ethnic group, which covers part of southeastern Nigeria.
Authorities consider IPOB a “terrorist” group and banned it in 2017. IPOB says it wants to achieve independence through non-violent means. It has allowed home orders on Mondays since July 2021, paralyzing small businesses in the region.
A splinter faction has set up a paramilitary wing, the Eastern Security Network, accused of human rights abuses, kidnappings and violent attacks on Nigeria’s Election Commission offices.
The region attempted to secede from Nigeria in 1967 as the Republic of Biafra, sparking a three-year civil war in which more than a million people died, most of them from starvation.