Nnamdi Kanu at the court | File Image
Justice Mwita: Having entered Kenya lawfully, he [Kanu] was subject to the protection offered by the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and the Government of Kenya had an obligation to uphold and protect his rights and fundamental freedom
By Valentine Amanze
The detained Indegenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has continued to win legal battles since his ordeal with the Nigerian government.
Just at the weekend, a High Court of Kenya sitting in Nairobi, the East African country, ordered the Kenyan government to pay Kanu 10 million Kenyan shillings (about N102 million) for gross violations of his fundamental rights.
The court also declared the detention and transfer of the leader of the IPOB from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021 as unlawful and illegal.
Delivering judgment, the presiding judge, Justice E. Mwita, faulted both the Nigerian and Kenyan governments for a rendition of Kanu in gross violations of his rights as guaranteed by the constitutions of the respective countries.
Justice Mwita added that having entered Kenya lawfully, he was subject to the protection offered by the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and the Government of Kenya had an obligation to uphold and protect his rights and fundamental freedom.
Also read: South-East governors to meet Tinubu on Nnamdi Kanu’s release, others
Recall that the Court of Appeal in Abuja had ordered the release of Nnamdi Kanu on October 13, 2022, after striking out the terrorism and treasonable felony charge filed by the Nigerian Government, on grounds that the IPOB leader was not properly extradited from Kenya.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria, however, dismissed the Appeal Court’s decision.
In a judgment read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court noted that despite a series of illegalities carried out by the government including a military raid on his home prompting his fleeing the country for safety, and his subsequent extradition from Kenya, that is not enough to stop a trial.
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