On Tuesday, Aloy Ejimakor, who serves as the Special Counsel to the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, accused both the Nigerian and Kenyan governments of violating their own laws in connection with the arrest of the agitator.
Ejimakor argued that Nigeria and Kenya failed to adhere to their own laws and international agreements to which they were parties concerning the extradition of an accused individual to their home country. As a result, he contended that the only viable solution to address the illegal abduction and extraordinary rendition of the IPOB leader is to unconditionally release Kanu.
In a post on a platform (referred to as “X”), the lawyer asserted that Nigeria and Kenya did not follow the prescribed legal procedures for extradition when Kanu was “abducted in Kenya and renditioned” to Nigeria in June 2021. According to Ejimakor, both Nigerian and Kenyan laws, as well as treaties ratified by Nigeria, outline specific steps that must be taken when returning an accused individual to face trial in another country. Failure to comply with these steps, as occurred in the case of Nnamdi Kanu, permanently deprives the court of jurisdiction. Therefore, the only viable option is to free Nnamdi Kanu.
Despite a ruling from an Abuja Appeal Court that ordered Nnamdi Kanu’s immediate and unconditional release and dismissed all 15 counts of treason against him, he remains in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS). The court also criticized the manner in which the IPOB leader was rendered to Nigeria, deeming it a violation of internationally recognized protocols for extradition.