IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu has petitioned global powers, including Donald Trump, the AU, and the EU, over what he calls his “unlawful detention by the Nigerian State.”
Describing himself as a “captive of the Nigerian State,” he condemned the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling and the Appeal Court’s “illegal stay of execution,” calling them “constitutional criminality of the highest order.”
Kanu accused the judiciary of “reckless lawlessness” and the UK of complicity, urging urgent international intervention to secure his release.
Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has petitioned U.S. President Donald Trump, the African Union (AU), and several international bodies, seeking urgent intervention over what he described as his unlawful detention by the Nigerian State.
Kanu, in the petition made available to journalists, also appealed to the UK, Canada, Germany, France, EU, Amnesty International, Red Cross, ECOWAS Court, Kenya, South Africa, Israel, Japan, and others.
Detained since June 2021, Kanu said his continued incarceration violates both Nigerian and international law, describing himself as a “captive of the Nigerian State.” He faulted the Supreme Court’s December 15, 2023 ruling which overturned his discharge and acquittal by the Court of Appeal on October 13, 2022.
According to him, the Appeal Court had declared his extraordinary rendition from Kenya illegal and nullified all Federal High Court proceedings, but later granted an “illegal stay of execution” on October 28, 2022.
“This decision is a barbaric and illegal act, wholly unknown to criminal law jurisprudence anywhere in the world. It constitutes constitutional criminality of the highest order, exhibiting a shocking lack of fidelity to the Nigerian Constitution,” Kanu said.
He added that between October 2022 and December 2023, he was detained without charges, breaching Section 35 of the Nigerian Constitution, the ICCPR, and the African Charter. He condemned the Supreme Court’s ruling as unconstitutional and “tantamount to double jeopardy.”
Kanu accused the judiciary of “reckless lawlessness and political bias” and the UK of complicity despite his British citizenship.
“I respectfully request urgent intervention: demanding that Nigeria comply with Abacha v. State and Ejiofor v. FRN by enforcing the Court of Appeal’s discharge retroactively to October 13, 2022, nullifying my arbitrary detention, declaring the October 28, 2022 stay illegal, and securing my immediate release,” he stated.
Warning that his continued detention endangers his life, he described it as “persecution sustained through judicial lawlessness,” and urged swift international intervention to safeguard his rights.