How My Journey of Injustice Began – Nnamdi Kanu
The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has outlined what he calls the “genesis of his odyssey of injustice,” tracing it to his abduction from Kenya in 2021 and a series of alleged legal violations during his prosecution in Nigeria.
His brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, shared Nnamdi Kanu’s position on Thursday following a visit to him at Sokoto Minimum Security Prison.
According to Kanu, his prosecution and conviction violated several provisions of both the Nigerian Constitution and international law, despite court rulings and legal precedents in his favour.
He questioned how Justice James Omotosho convicted him despite prior judgments, including a discharge and acquittal by the Court of Appeal.
Kanu said Justice Omotosho “ignored” these decisions and proceeded to convict him on charges he claims should no longer stand.
He traced the start of his “odyssey of injustice” to June 19, 2021, when he was abducted from Nairobi, Kenya, in what he described as “a covert operation of abduction, incommunicado detention, torture, and forcible transfer to Nigeria without extradition proceedings or judicial oversight.”
He cited the Federal High Court in Umuahia, where Justice Evelyn Anyadike, in a judgment delivered on October 26, 2022, condemned the rendition as “a gross violation of my rights under Sections 35 and 36 of the Constitution” and ordered his return to Kenya with N500 million in damages.
Kanu also referred to a favorable ruling from the High Court of Kenya in Nairobi, where Justice E.C. Mwita held on June 24, 2025, that his abduction, solitary confinement, and torture were unconstitutional under the Kenyan Constitution, awarding him KSHS 10 million (about N120 million) in damages.
He further noted that the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD), in Opinion 25/2022 adopted on April 4, 2022, classified his detention as arbitrary under Categories I and II.
The UN cited violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and recommended his immediate release, compensation, and investigation of those responsible.
Kanu also highlighted multiple communications from UN Special Rapporteurs on torture, arbitrary detention, forced disappearances, health, minorities, and counterterrorism.
They expressed concern over his enforced disappearance from June 19–29, 2021, illegal rendition, torture, and ill-treatment.
The UN urged Nigeria to provide explanations, cease violations, and comply with international obligations.
He criticised the circumstances of his arraignment in Nigeria, saying, “on the 24th day of June 2021, before Hon. Justice Binta Nyako, I was arraigned without access to counsel of my choice — a flagrant breach of Section 36(6)(c) of the Constitution.”
Kanu said this denial “set the stage for a cascade of nullities culminating in the Supreme Court’s remittal of this matter on the 15th day of December 2023, despite my discharge and acquittal by the Court of Appeal on the 13th day of October 2022.”
On the Supreme Court’s remittal, he argued, “In Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CR/625/2022, we submit with utmost deference that this remittal is a constitutional sacrilege, void ab initio for offending the supremacy of the Constitution and the doctrine of autrefois acquit.”
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
