By 
By Frank Oshanugor
Solicitors to the detained leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPoB), Nnamdi Kanu, have drawn the attention of the British Government to what they call the legal, political and diplomatic implications of the arrest, arraignment and detention of Kanu on Monday.
In a letter dated 30th June, 2021 (a copy of which SECURITY REPORTERS obtained) sent to the British High Commissioner in Nigeria, the Solicitors; Adulbert Legal Services with Chambers in Abuja, said Nnamdi Kanu, a British citizen who holds British Passport No. 556543086 was “on overseas travel when he was intercepted in Kenya by Nigeria’s foreign security agents and brought to Nigeria against his will on or about June 27, 2021 and arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja without benefit of Counsel on June 29, 2021 stating that “currently, he is being detained in the custody of the Department of State Service (DSS) in Abuja.
The solicitors pointed out that Kanu as a British citizen was traveling on a valid British passport when he was seized in a third country and forcibly brought to Nigeria. Such act constitutes an unlawful rendition of a bonafide British citizen since he was not traveling on Nigeria passport or any other country’s passport including Kenya’s,” they asserted.
The lawyers also argued that “there is no pending extradition proceedings standing against him in Britain or Kenya and neither is there a deportation or order by any Kenyan Court or other authority that made him subject to deportation.
Among the seven-point prayers of the solicitors is also that the Nigerian authorities be prevailed upon to immediately avail Kanu the opportunity of being taken to any hospital of his choice for medical examination while the British authorities should file a Diplomatic Note or other legal process with Nigeria’s Federal High Court and the office of the Attorney General of Nigeria indicating her sovereign interest in Kanu’s matter.
The lawyers’ demands also include that the British authorities urgently ask for the unconditional release of Mr. Nnamdi Kanu from detention.
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