The Coalition of igbo-British lawyers has condemned Kenya for handing over the leader of a separatist group to Nigeria.
In a statement signed by Attorney E.R Okoroafor, the lawyers criticized Kenya for the illegal and archaic manner in which its government acted in the illegal detention of the leader of the indigenous people of Biafra (Ipob) Nnamdi Kanu.
According to Okoroafor, Kenya did not follow the due process when handing over Kanu to the West African country.
He further noted that Kenya breached the personal human rights of Kanu but also undermined the sovereignty of the British government since he entered the East African country with his British passport.
The lawyers have threatened to move to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to rectify the injustice done to Kanu.
“While this serves as a pre-action notice to the Kenyan Government as we shall be heading to the International Criminal Court to rectify the injustice done as it is trite law that injustice to one is injustice to all,” said Okoroafor on Wednesday.
The lawyers have given the Nigerian government 48 hours to return Kanu to the United Kingdom, failure to which they will deem it a declaration of war.
“…they should as a nation that is governed by the constitution pass through the legal means of filing an extradition notice as failure to do so, we shall not hesitate to term this an a declaration of war on not only MAZI NNAMDI KANU and IPOB but on all IGBOS generally, and this we shall vehemently resist with all apparatus of law available at our disposal,” he added.
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Nigeria has also been warned against harming Kanu.
Kanu is the leader of Ipob, a movement that has been labelled a terrorist organization by the Nigerian authorities.
The movement wants a breakaway state in eastern Nigeria.
His arrest in 2015 led to major protests in South-East Nigeria. Kanu would later flee the country in 2017 while on bail.
He was facing an 11 count charge bordering on terrorism, treasonable felony, managing an unlawful society, publication of defamatory matter, illegal possession of firearms and improper importation of goods, among others.
Kanu who has been a thorn in the Nigerian government’s flesh since 2009, used his Radio Biafra station, which broadcasts from London, to call for an independent state for Igbo people.
On Tuesday, Minister for Justice Abubakar Malami said Kanu was arrested so that he can continue facing trial.
“He has been brought back to Nigeria in order to continue facing trial after disappearing while on bail regarding 11 count charge against him,” Malami said.
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