Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, a British citizen and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has been illegally detained in Abuja, Nigeria, for over four years. His extraordinary rendition from Kenya in June 2021—marked by abduction, torture, and defiance of international law exposes Nigeria’s contempt for justice. This is not just one man’s fight; it’s a glaring indictment of a government flouting the rule of law. The global community must act now to secure Kanu’s immediate release.
In June 2021, Kanu, 57, was kidnapped at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. Drugged, blindfolded, and tortured for eight days without food, water, or legal access, he was forcibly taken to Nigeria without extradition proceedings. The Kenyan High Court, in a June 24, 2025, ruling by Justice E.C. Mwita, declared this act illegal, awarding Kanu 10 million Kenyan shillings (about ₦120 million) for violations of his rights. IPOB calls it “state-sponsored international terrorism,” a breach of Kenyan, Nigerian, and international laws, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Yet Nigeria persists. A 2022 Nigerian Appeal Court ruling deemed Kanu’s detention unlawful, stating no court has jurisdiction to try him. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention echoed demands for his release. Still, the government defies these rulings. Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, Kanu’s Special Counsel, calls this “persecution masquerading as prosecution,” warning that selective obedience to court orders ignoring those granting Kanu lawyer access while upholding his detention—renders his incarceration “extrajudicial.” As he stated in October 2024, “No sane society anchored on rule of law should tolerate this.”
Kanu’s legal team faces relentless obstruction. On October 23, 2024, armed DSS officers blocked Ejimakor and another lawyer from visiting Kanu, prompting a court notice against the DSS Director General for defying visitation orders. Ejimakor noted, “This interference with Kanu’s constitutional right to his lawyers underscores the permanent hindrance to a fair trial.”
A judicial shift occurred on March 8, 2025, when Kanu’s case was reassigned after Justice Binta Nyako’s recusal in September 2024, following Kanu’s challenge to her impartiality. Ejimakor praised Chief Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun’s “sound administrative discretions” but warned that prior delays threaten Kanu’s right to a speedy trial, requiring “extraordinary measures.”
Kanu’s health is deteriorating, with severe ear and heart conditions untreated, violating his rights under international law. His family wife Uchechi Okwu-Kanu and their two young sons, British citizens suffer deeply. The youngest, aged eight, asks, “When will Daddy come home to pick me up from school?” The UK’s silence betrays its duty under the European Convention on Human Rights.
This case echoes Nigeria’s dark history, like the 1984 abduction of Umaru Dikko under Muhammadu Buhari’s military regime.
Ejimakor argues that if court orders from Nyako are void post-recusal, so is Kanu’s detention order, making his imprisonment unconstitutional. IPOB’s Director of Legal Affairs, Barrister Onyedikachi Ifedi, calls this a “litmus test” for Nigeria’s commitment to justice, noting that Kanu’s abduction violates Nigeria’s own Terrorism Act of 2022 an irony that indicts the state.
We, the undersigned, demand Kanu’s immediate release. Nigeria’s defiance of domestic and international rulings mocks justice and betrays constitutional norms. We urge the UK and global community to use diplomatic and economic leverage to free Kanu. As Ejimakor warns, “No criminal trial can proceed under such man-made hindrances.” The world must act before this injustice festers further.
Sign this petition. Demand justice for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Share widely to amplify this call.
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For more information, contact Nnamdi Kanu’s legal team.