TheCable

Jarvis Johnson, a member of the Texas house of representatives, has asked the US congress to prevail on the Nigerian government to release Nnamdi Kanu.

In a letter dated May 10 and addressed to the US congress, Johnson, who represents district 139, said Kanu’s condition has deteriorated and that there is an urgent need to release him unconditionally.

The lawmaker also informed the US congress that the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) was illegally extradited from Kenya to Nigeria in violation of international laws.

“This is an appeal for your urgent intervention to urge the Government of Nigeria (GON) to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu (MNK) from his Extraordinary Rendition dating back to June 27, 2021,” the letter reads.

“For over 50 years, the Igbos have been engaged in a struggle for self-determination.

“MNK is the leading advocate of this struggle for self-determination.

“MNK’s persecution by the Nigerian Government has increasingly intensified since 2015 when he visited Nigeria from London.

“That MNK was extraordinarily renditioned has been judicially affirmed by the Nigerian Courts and the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. As a result of the persistent and consistent efforts of The Kanu Family, the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and its Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) have engaged in insufficient efforts to secure his release from the GON’s extraordinary rendition.

“For additional information on the Nigerian Courts and UN Opinions holding that MNK was extraordinarily renditioned to Nigeria, discharging and acquitting him of all charges, and ordering\directing his ‘unconditional and immediate release’.

“Extraordinary rendition is illegal under our laws and policy. Congress explicitly clarified and codified this in the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (FARRA) reprinted in 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1231 (Historical and Statutory Notes (1999).

“There is no debate that the UN, Western Democracies including the UK and the US uniformly prohibit extraordinary rendition, as do the Nigerian courts and the Kenyan Government. Nevertheless, the GON continues to disobey its court orders and ignore the unanimity of laws prohibiting extraordinary rendition.

“For months now, it is public knowledge that MNK’s health condition has deteriorated, and continues to do so daily. He suffers from a serious heart condition and other ailments for which he is not getting medical attention.

“The right of self-determination is a natural right, and is enshrined in our foundational documents—The Declaration of Independence and Constitution. It has been, and is our policy and practice to support this right as we are now doing in Ukraine.”

In October 2022, the court of appeal in Abuja struck out the terrorism charge filed against Kanu.

The appellate court held that Kanu’s extradition from Kenya to Nigeria to stand trial was illegal.

The federal government later filed an appeal before the supreme court challenging the judgement — and subsequently filed an amended charge before a federal high court.

The federal government also filed to stay the execution in the appellate court and it was granted.

The supreme court heard the case last week but adjourned it to September 14.