Nnamdi Kanu was arrested without his travel documents in Kenya, says brother

Kingsley Kanu, a brother to Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), says Kanu was not with his travel documents when he was arrested in Kenya.

Kingsley Kanu noted that he spoke with his brother in Kenya shortly before his arrest and “he was well in Nairobi.”

Speaking with UK Guardian, Kingsley Kanu said Kanu’s associates told him that his brother only went out and didn’t take along his documents because he wasn’t planning on going anywhere.

“I spoke to him on the phone, he was well, in Nairobi. His associates said he went out, he didn’t take his documents with him so he wasn’t planning on going anywhere. Then all of a sudden we see him paraded in handcuffs in Abuja. It is an extraordinary rendition, aided by Kenyan authorities,” Kingsley Kanu was quoted by UK Guardian.

Kanu was arrested in June and extradited to Nigeria to face trial for alleged treason after he had jumped bail since 2017

Speaking on the arrest, Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation, said that Kanu was “intercepted through the collaborative efforts of Nigerian intelligence and security services”.

Malami did not state where the separatist leader was arrested, but TheCable learnt that Kanu, who is based in the UK, was lured to an African country with a promise of cash donations and was then picked up.

The peculiarities of Kanu’s arrest have become a subject of controversy with some stakeholders faulting the method deployed by the federal government.

Wilfred Machage, Kenyan high commissioner to Nigeria, denied the claim that Kanu was arrested in his country.

But Ifeanyi Ejiofor, lawyer to the IPOB leader, countered the position of the Kenyan government, saying his client was “illegally handover” to the Nigerian government.

Speaking further with the UK Guardian, Kingsley Kanu said the family is concerned about the wellbeing of the IPOB leader in detention, adding that they know he will be abused in detention.

“It is an outrage that cannot be allowed to happen. We are holding the Nigerian government and Kenyan government responsible. The British government, they know what is happening,” he said.

“I am concerned for his wellbeing because you know how they will treat him.”

The UK Guardian said evidence seen by the platform shows that the IPOB leader entered Kenya this year on his British passport on a visa expiring in June, adding that his UK passport remains in Kenya.

The platform said Kanu wasn’t in possession of a Nigerian passport and he has verbally renounced Nigerian citizenship in broadcasts.

“The abduction of a person from a foreign country with the aim of rendition to justice is illegal under international law,” the platform said.

The UK consulate in Nigeria has said it contacted Nigeria’s government concerning the case. UK officials did not immediately respond to requests from The Guardian for information.