A High Court in Nairobi has ruled that the abduction and forced rendition of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021 was illegal, unconstitutional, and a gross violation of his fundamental human rights.
Delivering judgment, Justice E.C. Mwita declared that both the Kenyan and Nigerian governments violated Kanu’s rights under Kenyan and international law. The court awarded Kanu 10 million Kenyan shillings (approximately ₦119,546,576) as compensation against the Kenyan government for its role in the unlawful detention and rendition.
“Mr. Nnamdi Kanu was abducted, kept in solitary confinement, tortured, and denied food and medication — a breach of basic rights. He was chained, humiliated, ridiculed, and forcibly removed from Kenya without following due legal process,” Justice Mwita stated in the ruling.
The court held that Kanu, who entered Kenya lawfully as a British citizen, was entitled to constitutional protections while in the country. Justice Mwita ruled that his abduction, incommunicado detention, torture, and eventual transfer to Nigeria violated the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, and international human rights norms.
Reacting to the ruling, IPOB described the judgment as a “landmark victory” and a vindication of its long-standing claim that Kanu was subjected to extraordinary rendition — an illegal transfer outside judicial process.
In a statement issued by IPOB spokesperson Emma Powerful, the group praised the Kenyan judiciary and the legal team led by prominent Kenyan lawyer Professor PLO Lumumba for what it called “historic, courageous, and landmark” legal advocacy.
“This judgment vindicates our consistent position that what transpired in Nairobi in June 2021 was not extradition but extraordinary rendition — a criminal act of state-sponsored international terrorism involving the highest authorities of the Nigerian and Kenyan governments,” IPOB’s statement read.
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The group alleged that Kanu was abducted in broad daylight at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport by Nigeria’s secret police in collusion with rogue elements in Kenya’s security services. IPOB claimed Kanu was tortured, denied medical care, and flown to Nigeria on a private jet without any extradition hearing or court warrant.
IPOB declared the judgment a major blow to the records of former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Nigeria’s former President Muhammadu Buhari, and former Attorney General Abubakar Malami, accusing them of orchestrating the illegal operation.
“This verdict places a permanent and indelible legal stain on the records of former presidents Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, and former Attorney General Abubakar Malami, and their accomplices,” the statement continued.
IPOB warned that the ruling is only the beginning of a broader global campaign for accountability. The group vowed to pursue all individuals and officials involved in Kanu’s rendition under international law, calling it a crime against humanity.
“Neither British diplomatic complicity nor cowardly silence from Western powers will shield the perpetrators from the legal, diplomatic, and moral reckoning that is coming,” IPOB stated.