In 2014, Nnamdi Kanu, a British-Nigerian activist, established the illegal organisation Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). purely for the purpose of re-establishing the Biafra state that existed in eastern Nigeria during the Nigerian Civil War of 1967–1970.
The famous IPOB leader also owned a United Kingdom registered radio-station, Radio Biafra which he uses to communicate to his supporters round the world.
He was detained on October 14, 2015, in Lagos. Due to health difficulties, he was held for a year before being released from prison on bail on April 28, 2017.
He didn’t, however, meet the requirements for bail, so he skipped bail and fled the country. While he was still at large, IPOB was designated as a terrorist organization.
Nnamdi Kanu continued his protest and plans for Biafra lands to be separated from Nigeria.
He was ultimately imprisoned in the DSS facility after being apprehended in Kenya in June 2021 and being turned over to the Nigerian authorities.
Later, he and his attorney referred to this arrest as an abduction because it was illegal and didn’t follow the proper extradition procedures required by the Nigerian Extradition Act, Cap. E25, Laws of the Federation 2004.
This flaw sparked concerns about why Nnamdi Kanu skipped the extradition procedure and why the IPOB leader wasn’t sent to the UK despite holding a British passport.
After a number of court appearances following Kanu’s rearrest, the Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, on Thursday, October 13, 2022, declared the rendition illegal and dismissed all allegations of terrorism brought against him by the Federal Government.
Even though Justice Oludotun Adebola upheld the appeal of the arrested IPOB leader and dismissed and acquitted him, adding that his abduction was illegal, the AGF, Malami, has since the announcement claimed that Kanu had just been released from custody, not found guilty.
Consequently, the Federal Government was ordered to pay the sum of N500 million naira to the IPOB leader for damages incurred by his unlawful detention, and also to return Nnamdi Kanu to Kenya where he was unlawfully arrested.
On October 26, a federal court in Umuahia, the capital of Abia State, issued a ruling regarding the extrajudicial rendition lawsuit that IPOB leader had presented before Justice Evelyn Ayandike of the high court.
The new development generated lots of reaction, especially people from the southeastern part of the country hoping the weekly sit-at-home they incurred ever since Nnamdi Kanu’s arrest will come to an end soon.
Since the Federal Government has neglected many court orders in the past.
Will the Federal Government obey the Court orders this time?
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