Nairobi, Kenya – Friday, June 27, 2025
A High Court in Nairobi has ruled that the abduction and subsequent transfer of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, from Kenya to Nigeria in 2021 was unlawful and unconstitutional. The court also awarded Kanu damages amounting to 10 million Kenyan Shillings (approximately ₦120 million) for the violation of his fundamental rights.
Presiding judge, Justice E.C. Mwita, held that Kanu’s arrest, detention, and forced return to Nigeria were executed without due process and amounted to a breach of both Kenyan and international law.
Justice Mwita stated that the IPOB leader was in Kenya legally at the time of his arrest. According to the judgment, Kanu was subjected to illegal detention, inhumane treatment, and was denied access to legal counsel, medical care, and due legal procedures, including an extradition hearing, before he was flown to Nigeria.
The court found that both the Kenyan authorities and Nigeria’s government acted in violation of Kanu’s rights as enshrined in Kenya’s 2010 Constitution and international conventions to which Kenya is a signatory.
“The respondents, by abducting and forcefully transferring the petitioner without judicial authority, violated his rights to liberty, fair hearing, and protection from torture,” the judge ruled.
Reacting to the verdict, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) described the ruling as a vindication of their position that Kanu was a victim of extraordinary rendition, a term used to describe state-sponsored abduction across borders.
Legal experts say the ruling could have far-reaching implications on the validity of the criminal trial Kanu is facing in Nigeria, as well as future cooperation between both countries on extradition matters.
The Nigerian government is yet to issue an official response to the ruling as of the time of filing this report.