By Wisdom Nwedene
The Leader of the Indigenous People Of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has dragged Nigerian and Kenyan governments to African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights.
Aloy Ejimakor, Esquire, Special Counsel to the IPOB leader made this known in a statement released on Tuesday and obtained by IGBERE TV.
Mazi Nnamdi Kanu
Mr. Ejimakor said he is demanding “accountability for the extraordinary rendition of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu From Kenya to Nigeria.”
According to the statement, “Jurisdiction lies with the Commission because Nigeria and Kenya are State Parties to the African Charter; and Nigeria even took a step further to domesticate the Charter, thus making it part of her municipal laws.”
“Both countries also have extradition laws that prohibit this sort of reprehensible conduct that saw Kanu to Nigeria.”
“More particularly, extraordinary rendition is expressly prohibited under the African Charter, where It provides in pertinent part that “A State may not transfer (e.g. deport, expel, remove, extradite) an individual to the custody of another State unless it is prescribed by law and in accordance with due process and other international human rights obligations. Extraordinary rendition, or any other transfer, without due process is prohibited”.
“A victim of extraordinary rendition is entitled to remedies mandated by the Charter.”
“Therefore, among many other reliefs, I requested that Kanu be restored to his state of being before the rendition, which state of being was that he travelled to Kenya on his British passport and was duly admitted as such and as a free man.”
“Further, that no valid territorial jurisdiction can issue from an act of extraordinary rendition because Kanu is, technically speaking, still in Kenya.”
“And that the Nigerian bench warrant standing against Kanu is, in the absence of any successful extradition proceedings in Kenya, invalid to arrest in Kenya.”
“I also requested the Commission to adopt other urgent measures as the Commission sees fit in the circumstances to protect Nnamdi Kanu in the interim. A fact-finding visitation to Nigeria is also in reckoning.”
“In my previous press briefings, I had said – with much confidence – that Kanu’s trial will be a trial within trial. To those who didn’t fully grasp what it meant, this extant continental legal action will give you a clue. And this is just the beginning.”
“To be sure, any nation that dabbles in extraordinary rendition has unwittingly brought impediments to her territorial jurisdiction. So, Nigeria, whether it admits it or not, has triggered a hornets nest that has, for the first time, brought the international legal order to bear on the matter of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.”
IGBERE TV recalls that the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday adjourned the trial of Kanu.
Justice Binta Nyako adjourned the trial on Monday at the resumption of proceedings at the court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The trial suffered a setback after the Department of State Services (DSS) failed to produce Kanu in court.
Justice Nyako faulted the action of the security outfit, noting that she had stayed back in her chambers waiting for the defendant to be in court.
She asked the prosecution to be diligent with dates whenever she gives one, stressing that it was important for Kanu to be present at his trial.
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