by Ayomide Otitoju
A High Court sitting in Nairobi has ruled that the 2021 arrest and transfer of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, from Kenya to Nigeria was unlawful and in violation of his rights.
In a judgment delivered by Justice E. Mwita, the court held that the actions of the Kenyan and Nigerian governments amounted to an illegal rendition, breaching Kanu’s fundamental rights under the Kenyan Constitution. The court awarded Kanu 10 million Kenyan shillings in damages for the breach.
Justice Mwita emphasized that Kanu, having lawfully entered Kenya, was entitled to constitutional protections, and the state had an obligation to safeguard his freedoms.
The ruling aligns with a 2022 judgment by the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which ordered Kanu’s release after dismissing terrorism and treasonable felony charges due to the flawed process of his extradition.
