A High Court in Nairobi declared the 2021 transfer of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), from Kenya to Nigeria illegal, citing gross violations of his fundamental rights.
The court, presided over by Justice E.C. Mwita, awarded Kanu 10 million Kenyan shillings (approximately ₦120 million) in compensatory damages against the Kenyan government for its role in his abduction, incommunicado detention, and torture.
Kanu, a British-Nigerian citizen arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in June 2021, was forcibly taken to Abuja by Nigeria’s secret police without an extradition hearing. The court found that Kanu entered Kenya lawfully as a British passport holder, entitling him to constitutional protections, which both Kenyan and Nigerian authorities breached. The ruling condemned the collusion between rogue Kenyan security elements and Nigerian agents, describing the rendition as a violation of Kenya’s 2010 Constitution and international human rights law.
The verdict has intensified calls for Kanu’s release in Nigeria, where he faces terrorism charges linked to his advocacy for Biafra’s secession. His trial, ongoing since 2015, has seen multiple bail denials despite court orders, sparking protests in Nigeria’s South-East, with 500 reported arrests in 2024. The decision could strain Kenya-Nigeria relations, with Kenya’s Foreign Ministry yet to respond. Kanu’s legal team plans to leverage the ruling to challenge his detention, with a hearing scheduled for July 18, 2025, in Abuja.