Naija News
Court Orders FG To Return Nnamdi Kanu To Kenya
Published on
Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra, must be returned to Kenya before his rendition on June 19, 2021, the Federal High Court’s Umuahia Division ruled on Wednesday.
Kanu received N500 million in general damages from Justice Evelyn Anyadike, who also delivered the ruling.
Mr. Kanu asked the court to overturn the federal government’s infamous unlawful removal or extraordinary rendition of him from Kenya.
The federal government, Attorney General of the Federal and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, and President Muhammadu Buhari are named as respondents in the March lawsuit.
The court referred to the Abuja Court of Appeal’s judgment from October 13 and granted all eight reliefs that Mr. Kanu had requested, including the one on extraordinary rendition.
The court ruled that Mr. Kanu’s deportation or extraordinary rendition is a blatant breach of his fundamental rights protected by both Chapter IV of the Nigerian Constitution and Article 12(4) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.
It was decided that Kanu’s rights had been flagrantly violated by the way he was arrested, the use of torture, his protracted confinement, and the denial of his right to a fair trial.
Ms. Anyadike stated in her hour-long judgment that the respondents had the responsibility to defend their actions, which they failed to do.
Kanu’s attorney, Alloy Ejimakor, responded by praising the court for what he called a “painstaking judgment.”
He claims that it demonstrates how the court is the final bastion of the ordinary man’s hope and that it has restored our faith in the legal system as a whole.
Mr Ejimakor said:
‘what is the most important in today’s judgement is not the money awarded to us as damages, but the court’s order that Kanu should be restored to the status quo as of June 19, 2021.“I, therefore, call on the Federal Government to take prompt steps to obey this court order and restore Kanu to the status quo.”
The respondents did not make an appearance in court.
