Kenyan high court fines Nigerian government 10m shillings for abducting Nnamdi Kanu

NIGERIA has been adjudged to have breached Kenya's sovereignty by abducting Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) leader Nnamdi Kanu from Nairobi in 2021 and has been fined 10m Kenyan shillings ($77,000) for the offence.

In a judgment delivered a Nairobi high court, a judge ruled that Mr Kanu's abduction was unlawful, unconstitutional and a gross violation of his fundamental rights. There was widespread jubilation in his home town of Umuahia following the judgement as about 600 youths hit the streets in celebration.

Highly controversial, Mr Kanu has been campaigning for the recreation of the independent republic of Biafra which broke away from Nigeria between July 1967 and January 1970 during the civil war. His campaign, which has led to the phenomenal growth of Ipob, has set him at odds with the Nigerian government who had him arrested and put on trial for treason.

While the case was still pending, Mr Kanu was granted bail in April 2017 on health grounds but skipped his bail after flouting the conditions given to him by the court and fled Nigeria. However, in a dramatic development in June 2021, Mr Kanu was abducted by security agents in Kenya and flown to Nigeria, where he was handed over to the State Security Service.

A Nairobi court has now ruled that the arrest was illegal and awarded damages of 10m shillings to the Kenyan government. Following the judgement, the All Igbo Youth Forum (AIYF) hurriedly met at the Awka Town Hall in Umuahia and passed a resolution urging the federal government to release Mr Kanu without delay.

They then marched round the streets of the Abia State capital dancing and singing songs of joy, saying there was no further reason to keep Mr Kanu in detention. Chinedu Obilolor, the AIYF president, appealed to President Bola Tinubu to free Mr Kanu, the same way Yoruba separatist  leader, Sunday Igboho, was freed by the federal government.

Mr Obilolor alleged that politicians from the southeast geo-political zone have refused to identify with Nnamdi Kanu each time his case came up in court, while using his name to score cheap political points. He then advised President Tinubu to deal directly with the youths in the southeast and not governors and lawmakers, pointing out that failing to deal with youths on issues concerning the interests of the region would lead to his defeat in the 2027 elections.

 “Youths from Igbo land are not happy that our brother is still there up till now. Now, the youths, we are pleading with Mr President to release this young man to us,” Mr Obilolor added.          

According to him, youths from the entire southeast region took a common stand after their meeting in Ebonyi State last week, where a decision was taken to work for the overall interest of the Igbos. Earlier this year, Mr Kanu lost his N50bn ($31.35m) lawsuit against the Nigerian federal government after an Abuja high court struck out his case for lack of diligent prosecution.