Kenyan government reveals in court that it had no say in Nnamdi Kanu's abduction and deportation

KENYA'S government has denied any involvement in the recent arrest and abduction of Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) leader Nnamdi Kanu when the matter was heard in court this week in a private suit.

In June this year, Mr Kanu was apprehended in Kenya where he was detained, tortured and then flown to Nigeria and handed over to the security authorities. Claiming that the arrest was illegal at it did not follow laid down procedures including the obtaining of court orders or extradition warrants, Mr Kanu's family have taken the Kenyan government to court in Nairobi.

Filed by the Ipob leader's brother Kingsley Kanu, the suit led to the Kenyan government revealing that Mr Kanu did not undergo any extradition proceedings before being flown to Nigeria. Distancing itself from the arrest, the Kenyan government said there was no record in any of its police stations showing that Mr Kanu was legally arrested or detained in the country.

Kingsley Kanu said: "On November 2 2021, the government of Kenya filed its defence to the suit I had earlier filed in Kenya on behalf of my brother, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. It will be recalled that following my brother’s extraordinary rendition in June this year, the Kenyan government had publicly issued a series of statements, denying its complicity in this abominable act.

“In the said defence that it filed in court, Kenya has not only persisted in its denials but it went further to confirm that my brother was denied the benefit of the due process of extradition in Kenya or even a lawful arrest.

“In particular, the defence the Kenyan government filed in court stated that there are no extradition proceedings to justify that the Government of Kenya is responsible for the subject’s extradition. There is no record from any of the police station within the country to indicate that the subject in issue was lawfully arrested and detained for purposes of commencing extradition proceedings.

“It needs to be emphasised that above admissions have officially confirmed our long-held position that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s transfer from Kenya to Nigeria is unlawful, not lawful as was claimed by the Nigerian government. This latest revelation, officially made in open court by Kenya, further solidifies our abiding position that the Nigerian government cannot benefit from its own wrong by subjecting my brother to trial.

“As the next hearing date unfolds on December 7 2021, more legal processes will be in view. Our immediate goal is to secure the unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from detention.”