A Kenyan High Court sitting in Nairobi has declared the transfer and detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021 unlawful and illegal.
The court also awarded compensatory damages of 10 million Kenyan shillings against the Kenyan Government for gross violation of Kanu’s fundamental rights.
Delivering judgment, the presiding judge, Justice E. Mwita, faulted both the Nigerian and Kenyan governments for a rendition of Kanu in gross violations of his rights as guaranteed by the constitutions of the two countries.
READ ALSO: The Tinubu administration and its malcontents (2)
Justice Nwita added that having entered Kenya lawfully, Kanu 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 freedom.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja had ordered the release of Nnamdi Kanu on October 13, 2022, after striking out the terrorism and treasonable felony charge filed by the Nigerian government on grounds that the IPOB leader was not properly extradited from Kenya.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria, however, dismissed the Appeal Court’s decision.
In a judgment read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court noted that the series of illegalities carried out by the government, including a military raid on his home prompting him to flee the country for safety, and his subsequent extradition from Kenya, were not enough to stop his trial.