Nnamdi Kanu’s special counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, has written to Ambassador Samuela Isopi, Head of the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States, pleading with him to persuade the Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to release his principal from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).
In a letter obtained by Naija News on Wednesday, Ejimakor requested the EU Delegation’s diplomatic and humanitarian intervention to pressure the Nigerian government to implement the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s opinion and the Federal High Court’s judgment ordering the release of the IPOB leader.
He also requested that Isopi lobby the Buhari administration to recognize Kanu’s human right to seek independent medical care for his ailments.
According to Ejimakor, despite a court ruling freeing Nnamdi Kanu, the federal government has continued to detain the pro-Biafra activist in solitary confinement while his trial lingers in delays, adjournments, continuances, and appeals that have become the norm since his arrest and incarceration in 2015.
He recalled that on July 20, 2022, the UN Working Group issued an Opinion in which it stated that Kanu was arbitrarily arrested, tortured, and extraordinary renditioned to Nigeria in violation of international laws and norms.
Accordingly, the Working Group directed the GON to unconditionally and immediately release Mr. Kanu and accord him the opportunity of seeking reparations.
On 13th October, 2022, the Court of Appeal of Nigeria delivered a judgment, ruling in the main that Mr. Kanu’s presence in Nigeria is as a result of an impermissible extraordinary rendition. The court accordingly discharged Kanu from all criminal charges pending against him, he said.
According to the IPOB lawyer, Nnamdi Kanu is gravely ill with three potentially fatal conditions: a serious heart condition, hypertension, and low potassium levels.
All of these conditions, he claims, necessitate specialized medical care and interventions that are not available at the facility where Kanu is being held.
He accused the federal government of turning down every request for Kanu to receive independent/specialist medical care.
Ejimakor requested that the European Union governments intervene urgently with the Nigerian government, urging it to grant Kanu his human right to seek independent medical care for his severe health conditions in the interim.
He asked the EU to;
Intervene with GON, urging it to promptly comply with the said Opinion
of the United Nations Working Group, particularly as it pertains to the unconditional release of Mr. Kanu from detention.Intervene with GON, urging it to promptly comply with the ratio of the said judgment of the Federal High Court of Nigeria (Umuahia) by restoring Mr. Kanu to his status quo before 19th June, 2021 and otherwise making him whole as was ordered by the court.
Intervene with GON, urging it to be guided – in all matters relating to Mr. Kanu – by the letters and spirit of the United Nations Working Group
Opinion, the judgment of the Federal High Court of Nigeria (Umuahia), the judgment of the High Court of Abia State and the judgement of the
Court of Appeal of Nigeria.Intervene with GON, urging it to cease and desist from further criminal prosecution of Mr. Kanu and to instead constructively engage Mr. Kanu in seeking a political solution to the Biafran question.
See the complete letter below:
