Igbo lawyers fault Nnamdi Kanu’s detention, vow to ensure justice

By GORDI UDEAJAH, Umuahia

Igbo Lawyers Association (ILA) has decried the recent rendition of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu to Nigeria by the Federal Government, faulting the claim that he jumped bail in 2017.

The leader of ILA, Mr. Chuks Muoma, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), told journalists in Aba, Abia State, that rather than jump bail, the IPOB leader ran for dear life.

He argued: “After he was granted bail, Kanu stayed in his father’s house at Afara-Ukwu, Umuahia, until the invasion of the house by the police, Department of State Services (DSS) and the army. He suspected that the invasion was aimed at his life and you do not expect him to do anything.

“He has the right to self-preservation, which he did to escape from danger. If he was interested in jumping bail, why didn’t he jump bail before that incident?”

Urging Nigerians, including those agitating for self-determination, to always toe the path of dialogue, Muoma appealed to the Federal government to embrace dialogue as a permanent solution to issues.

According to the SAN, ILA under his leadership is out to ensure justice in accordance with the Nigerian constitution, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR), which have been domesticated in Nigeria.

“There are serious cases raised in Kanu’s recent presence in or rendition to Nigeria, and I have questioned the manner of his abduction because what happened was never an arrest.

“Kenyan government is busy denying that they don’t know anything. The question is, how did the man leave your territory? Does it mean Kenya has no security within its borders?” he queried.

However, the Special Counsel to the detained IPOB Leader, Aloy Ejimakor, stated yesterday that he visited Kanu at his detention facility. “Despite what he has passed through, he was in high spirits and looked forward to overcoming the extraordinary rendition that brought him to Nigeria.”

Ejimakor said that before any court could subject Kanu to trial, it has to first conduct a trial within a trial on the grievous incident that forced Kanu to leave Nigeria and the equally grievous incident that forced him back to Nigeria. “No court of law, conscience and equity will overlook those two issues and proceed to trial.” (The Guardian)