Nigeria must return Nnamdi Kanu to Kenya from where he was illegally arrested and abducted, a federal judge ruled yesterday.

The Nigerian Government should additionally pay Kanu N500m compensation for illegal arrest and inhuman treatment in Kenya.

E. N. Anyadike, a Federal High Court judge, handed down these decisions at Umuahia, in response to an action brought by Kanu’s lawyers.
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He observed that government failed to contest the claim that Kanu was illegally arrested in Kenya and repatriated on 19 June 2021.

Anyadike said his court therefore has no option than to accept that Kanu was transferred from Kenya to Nigeria without following due process.

This action, the judge said, flagrantly abused due process and violated Kanu’s fundamental human rights.

He noted that government failed to disprove the claims that Kanu was arrested, blindfolded, tortured, and chained to the ground for eight days in Kenya before his extradition to Nigeria.

These claims were made in court by Aloy Ejimakor, Kanu’s lawyer, as he mounted a second legal challenge against Kanu’s extradition. He previously pursued the case at an Abia State high in Umuahia but could not make a headway.

The Abia State court ruled on 19 January that it cannot entertain the case of rendition against Kanu.

Rendition, the judge said, is similar to repatriation and is therefore a matter for exclusive federal hearing.

This prompted Ejimakor to approach the federal high court in Umuahia to press his case for redress of human rights violations against Kanu.

Ejimako said the biggest violation was Kanu’s “unlawful expulsion or extraordinary rendition … which is a clear violation of his fundamental rights.”

He quoted Article 12(4) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, and Chapter IV of the Nigerian Constitution to support his claim.

He also listed other violations as “torture, unlawful detention and denial of right to fair hearing” in Kenya.

Consequently, Ejimako asked the judge to ordee a halt to Kanu’s ongoing treason trial and to restore him to the status quo before his 19 June repatriation.
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“This very case before the Federal High Court in Umuahia is one of such that is aimed at seeking a definitive judicial pronouncement on the constitutionality of the extraordinary rendition.

Return Nnamdi Kanu to Kenya, court rules

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