The leader of the Federal Government proscribed- Indigenous People of Biafra, (IPOB ) Mazi Nnamdi Kanu will, after over two years of extraordinary rendition and solitary confinement under the custody of the Department of State Service, (DSS), have his fate decided by the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Abuja on Monday, 10th of December, 2023.
A reminder of the chain of events? You would recall that the IPOB leader was on June, 27th of July 2021 arrested and renditioned to Nigeria from Kenya and has since been in the DSS facility.
Kanu who was initially arrested for 11 court charges was allegedly said to have jumped bail in 2017 following the reports of the invasion of his country home by the Nigerian Army, an incident that reportedly claimed no fewer than 28 people. It was a sequel to the unprecedented incident that Kanu resurfaced in Israel a year later.
Meanwhile, upon his rearrest and rendition back to Nigeria, fresh 16-count charges were brought up by the Federal Government of Nigeria against the IPOB’s leader. Nonetheless, different courts of competent jurisdiction including a Federal High Court sitting in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, ordered the Federal Government to pay the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, N500m as damages following his illegal abduction and human rights abuse.
The court also ordered the Federal Government to return him to Kenya, from where he was extradited to Nigeria on June 19, 2021.
The court presided over by Justice E.N. Anyadike, insisted that the extradition of Kanu from Kenya without recourse to the legal process was a flagrant abuse of his fundamental human rights.
Kanu, through his counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, had approached the court challenging his extradition from Kenya on June 19, 2022.
Ejimakor told the court that the suit was sui generis (of a special class) and was primarily aimed at redressing the unlawful expulsion or extraordinary rendition of Kanu, which is a clear violation of his fundamental rights under Article 12(4) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, as well as Chapter IV of the Nigerian Constitution.
Similarly, a High Court sitting in Enugu, on Thursday, asked the Nigeria Federal Government and South-East Governors to pay the sum of N8,000,000,000.00 (Eight Billion Naira) to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The court also mandated the respondents to apologize to Kanu for the infringement of his fundamental rights.
“Ordered the Respondents, jointly or severally, to issue official Letter(s) of Apology to the Applicant (MAZI NNAMDI KANU) for the infringement of his fundamental rights; and publication of said Letter(s) of Apology in three (3) national dailies.
“Ordered the Respondents to, jointly or severally, pay the sum of N8,000,000,000.00 (Eight Billion Naira) to the Applicant (MAZI NNAMDI KANU), being monetary damages claimed by the Applicant against the Respondents jointly and severally for the physical, mental, emotional, psychological, property and other damages suffered by the Applicant as a result of the infringements of his fundamental rights by the Respondents”, Justice A. O Onovo, said.
Additionally, the court declared as unconstitutional, the proscription and designation of IPOB as a terrorist organization by the Federal Government and the South East Governors.
The ruling was a sequel to a suit brought before the court by the IPOB legal team led by Aloy Ejimakor, challenging the 2017 proscription of IPOB as a terror organization.
The court also declared as unconstitutional, the proscription and designation of IPOB as a terrorist organization by the Federal Government and the South East Governors.
The ruling was a sequel to a suit brought before the court by the IPOB legal team led by Aloy Ejimakor, challenging the 2017 proscription of IPOB as a terror organization.
Meanwhile, having declared the IPOB’s leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu freed and acquitted by various Courts sitting in Nigeria, it still baffles many right-thinking citizens of the world why the Department of State Service still holds him hostage.
It is against this background that a lot of questions beg for answers: Have Igbo People abandoned their own? What is Kanu’s fate come December 10, 2023, at the Supreme Court? Who is behind Kanu’s lingering ordeals?
Recall that ahead of the 2023 general elections in Nigeria, speculations were brought up that the release of Kanu would alter the presidential aspiration of the Igbo people through Mr. Peter Obi. Some believed that with Obi as the President, Kanu’s freedom be facilitated and made much more possible among other expensive speculations. Meanwhile, the Buhari-led administration has given way to President Bola Tinubu which has triggered further questions about the circumstances surrounding the continuous detention of Kanu.
In a recent reaction to the prevailing development, the lead Counsel to the IPOB’s leader, Mike Ozekhome (SAN) was spotted praying for God’s intervention in Kanu’s case. The distinguished SAN made several declarations ahead of the 10th of December, 2023, a day to remember in the entire Igbo land, Nigeria, and the world at large.
Should the Supreme Court rule against the IPOB’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu, what happens next? Will Igbo people turn their back on him?
Recall that the governors of the states in the Southeastern region of Nigeria have tirelessly proposed a political solution to Kanu’s case. A proposition that to date is yet to materialize.
Against all odds, the IPOB’s Leader has remained resilient, resolute, and indefatigably optimistic in the camp of his oppressors.
Anticipating what unfolds on the 10th of December, 2023 as many still ask if Igbo People have abandoned their own.
