“Prevent my possible death” – Nnamdi Kanu cries out to Trump, AU, World Powers, demands release from ‘captivity’

GistReel

Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has petitioned U.S. President Donald Trump, the African Union (AU), and several international bodies, seeking urgent intervention for what he described as his unlawful detention by the Nigerian State.

In the petition made available to journalists, Kanu appealed to global powers, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, European Union, Amnesty International, Red Cross, ECOWAS Court, Kenya, South Africa, Israel, Japan, and over a dozen other countries and organizations.

Kanu, who has been in custody since June 2021, maintained that his continued detention violates both Nigerian and international law.

He described himself as a “captive of the Nigerian State,” faulting the Supreme Court’s December 15, 2023, ruling which overturned his earlier discharge and acquittal by the Court of Appeal on October 13, 2022.

According to him, the Court of Appeal had declared his extraordinary rendition from Kenya illegal and nullified all proceedings at the Federal High Court.

However, the same court allegedly granted an “illegal stay of execution” on October 28, 2022, which paved the way for his prolonged incarceration.

“This decision is a barbaric and illegal act, wholly unknown to criminal law jurisprudence anywhere in the world. It constitutes constitutional criminality of the highest order, exhibiting a shocking lack of fidelity to the Nigerian Constitution,” Kanu said, citing legal authorities that bar stays of execution in criminal proceedings.

He further alleged that between October 2022 and December 2023, he was detained without charges, in breach of Section 35 of the Nigerian Constitution, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the African Charter.

Kanu condemned the Supreme Court’s December 2023 verdict as unconstitutional and tantamount to double jeopardy.

He also accused the Nigerian judiciary of “reckless lawlessness and political bias,” insisting that the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights had previously documented systemic discrimination against IPOB.

The IPOB leader also called out the United Kingdom, accusing it of complicity in his ordeal despite being a British citizen. He claimed that the UK’s failure to act had enabled his prolonged detention.

In his appeal, Kanu urged the international community to pressure Nigeria into complying with earlier rulings and constitutional provisions.

“I respectfully request urgent intervention: demanding that Nigeria comply with Abacha v. State and Ejiofor v. FRN by enforcing the Court of Appeal’s discharge retroactively to October 13, 2022, nullifying my arbitrary detention, declaring the October 28, 2022 stay illegal, and securing my immediate release,” he stated.

Kanu warned that his continued detention posed grave risks to his life, describing it as “persecution sustained through judicial lawlessness.”

He urged swift global intervention to uphold constitutional order and safeguard his rights.