Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, on Wednesday, petitioned the president of the United States, Donald Trump, the African Union, and several foreign governments and international organisations, seeking urgent intervention for his release from what he described as unlawful captivity by the Nigerian State.
He said the extraordinary rendition constituted a jurisdictional nullity that rendered the Federal High Court proceedings void.
In the petition, which was made available to journalists, Kanu addressed the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, European Union, Netherlands, Sweden, Amnesty International, Red Cross, African Union, ECOWAS Court, Kenya, South Africa, Norway, Denmark, Japan, Brazil, Israel, Finland, and Austria.
Kanu, who has been in detention since June 2021, claimed he has been held in solitary confinement in violation of his rights. He described himself as a “captive of the Nigerian State” and faulted the Supreme Court’s December 15, 2023 ruling, which reversed his discharge and acquittal earlier granted by the Court of Appeal on October 13, 2022.
He urged the international community to compel Nigeria to respect its own laws, uphold constitutional supremacy, and adhere to stare decisis. According to him, the Court of Appeal had earlier ruled that his extraordinary rendition from Kenya was illegal, violated the Extradition Act 2004, and nullified proceedings at the Federal High Court.
He, however, accused the Court of Appeal of illegally granting a stay of execution on October 28, 2022, which enabled his continued detention.
He said: “This decision is a barbaric and illegal act, wholly unknown to criminal law jurisprudence anywhere in the world. It constitutes constitutional criminality of the highest order, exhibiting a shocking lack of fidelity to the Nigerian Constitution,” Kanu said, citing legal authorities that prohibit stays of execution in criminal proceedings.
He further alleged that he was arbitrarily detained without charge between October 2022 and December 2023, in violation of Section 35 of the Nigerian Constitution, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the African Charter.
He said the Supreme Court’s December 15, 2023 decision overturning his acquittal and remitting the case for trial was unconstitutional and amounted to double jeopardy.
Kanu accused the Nigerian judiciary of reckless lawlessness and political bias, noting that the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights had documented systemic bias against IPOB.
He also accused the United Kingdom of complicity, stating that as a British citizen, his rights under international law had been violated while the UK failed to act.
He added, “I respectfully request urgent intervention: demanding that Nigeria comply with Abacha v. State and Ejiofor v. FRN by enforcing the Court of Appeal’s discharge retroactively to October 13, 2022, nullifying my arbitrary detention, declaring the October 28, 2022 stay illegal, and securing my immediate release.
“The Supreme Court’s December 15, 2023 reversal, compounded by the Court of Appeal’s illegal stay of execution on October 28, 2022, represents a systemic collapse of the rule of law in Nigeria.
“My 14-month arbitrary detention, enabled by UK inaction, exposes discriminatory neglect and judicial lawlessness. Your urgent intervention is critical to halt my persecution, uphold constitutional governance, and prevent my possible death in custody.”
