IPOB Lawyer Urges Nigerians to Oppose Kanu’s Detention and Join October 20 Protest

Aloy Ejimakor, the Special Counsel to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has called on all Nigerians to oppose Kanu’s continued detention and prosecution.

Ejimakor argues that Kanu cannot legally be tried in Nigeria due to the circumstances of his return, which he describes as an “infamous extraordinary rendition.”

Extraordinary Rendition Nullifies Trial Jurisdiction

Ejimakor contends that Kanu’s forced return to Nigeria was a “brazen act of attempted extraordinary rendition,” which he classifies as a grave State crime under international law. He asserts that when such misconduct occurs, the complicit nation permanently loses its “prosecutorial power” over the victim.

To illustrate this, Ejimakor referenced the 1984 attempted kidnapping of Umaru Dikko by Nigerian agents in Britain. He noted that although that kidnapping failed, it resulted in severe diplomatic consequences, including Britain convicting suspects, expelling Nigeria’s High Commissioner, breaking diplomatic relations for two years, and summarily denying all subsequent extradition requests for Dikko. Ejimakor stated that, similarly, Nigeria has “by her own hands, lost its jurisdiction to subject him [Kanu] to trial.”

The lawyer stressed that anyone who truly supports the rule of law should oppose the proceedings. He criticized groups and individuals who say they will only “monitor” Kanu’s trial or seek a “fair trial” for him, arguing that they are “unwittingly buying into a grievous State crime” that should shock their conscience.

Ejimakor concluded by urging Nigerians to reject Kanu’s continued detention and “join the train… to Aso Rock for #MNKOct20,” referring to a planned October 20 protest to the Presidential Villa in Abuja aimed at demanding Kanu’s freedom.