A prominent human rights lawyer, Christopher Chidera, has accused the Kenyan government of failing in its duty to protect the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, when he was abducted in June 2021 and forcibly brought back to Nigeria.
Chidera alleges that Kenya was complicit in Kanu’s abduction, unlawful detention, and subsequent rendition to Nigeria, violating both its own laws and international legal frameworks. He insists that Kenya must be held accountable for enabling what he describes as a grave human rights violation.
Kenya Ignored Its Own Legal Framework
The lawyer highlighted that Kenya disregarded key legal provisions, including:
- Article 29 of the Kenyan Constitution (2010), which prohibits arbitrary detention and torture.
- The Kenyan Extradition Act (1968), which mandates proper legal procedures before extraditing individuals.
- The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees due process in deportation cases.
According to Chidera, Kanu, a British-Nigerian citizen, was taken on June 19, 2021, at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi while waiting for a friend. Armed men, believed to be Kenyan and Nigerian operatives, allegedly seized him without a warrant or any judicial approval.
He was held in a secret location for eight days under inhumane conditions:
- Chained to the floor and subjected to severe beatings.
- Denied access to basic sanitation and medical care.
- Tortured to the point of unconsciousness.
Despite Kenya’s denial of involvement, Chidera insists that Kanu’s transfer to Nigeria on June 27, 2021, was illegal since:
- No formal extradition request was filed by Nigeria.
- No legal hearing or judicial process was conducted before his handover.
Additionally, the “Doctrine of Specialty,” which restricts prosecution to the charges listed in an extradition request, was completely ignored, further proving that Kanu’s transfer was an extrajudicial act.
Kenya’s International Violations
Beyond breaching its own laws, Kenya also violated international human rights treaties, including:
- ICCPR (Article 13), which protects individuals from arbitrary expulsion.
- The 1984 UN Convention Against Torture, which prohibits the extradition of individuals to countries where they may face torture.
Given that Kanu had previously suffered ill-treatment in Nigerian custody between 2015 and 2017, his forced return clearly violated Kenya’s international obligations, Chidera emphasized.
Call for Accountability
Chidera argues that Kenya’s failure to uphold the rule of law in this case has tarnished its reputation as a Commonwealth nation and a supposed defender of justice.
He called on international human rights organizations to launch an independent investigation and hold Kenya accountable for its actions.
“This is a blatant violation of human rights, and those responsible must be held to account,” Chidera stated.
The legal battle surrounding Nnamdi Kanu’s detention continues to raise serious questions about international justice, sovereignty, and the protection of political dissidents worldwide.
Leave a Reply