The Kenyan government has told a court in the country that it isn’t responsible for the extradition of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to Nigeria.
The IPOB leader had filed a petition with number E359, through Kingsley Kanunta Kanu, his brother, at the high court of Kenya, Nairobi constitutional and human rights division, challenging his extradition to Nigeria.
Kanu named Kenya’s interior cabinet secretary, director of immigration, director of criminal investigations, officer commanding police division (OCPD) of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, and the attorney-general as respondents in the suit.
In a statement on Thursday, the IPOB leader’s brother said the Kenyan government, in its defence filed on November 2, claimed that there was no record of Kanu’s arrest by police in the country or extradition proceedings.
Aloy Ejimakor, Kanu’s special lawyer in Nigeria, also confirmed the development to TheCable.
“There are no extradition proceedings to justify that the Government of Kenya is responsible for the subject’s extradition,” the document reads.
“There is no OB record from any of the police stations within the country to indicate that the subject in issue was lawfully arrested and detained for purposes of commencing extradition proceedings.”
Kingsley said according to the defence, “Kenya has not only persisted in its denials, but it went further to confirm that my brother was denied the benefit of the due process of extradition in Kenya or even a lawful arrest”.
“It needs to be emphasised that above admissions have officially confirmed our long-held position that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s transfer from Kenya to Nigeria is unlawful, not lawful as was claimed by the Nigerian government,” he added.
“This latest revelation, officially made in open court by Kenya, further solidifies our abiding position that the Nigerian government cannot benefit from its own wrong by subjecting my brother to trial.”
The court has fixed December 7, 2021, for continuation.
