Nigerian political leader Nnamdi Kanu who was abducted while in Kenya and deported can heave a sigh of relief, after the state was ordered to pay him 500 million Naira – an equivalent of Ksh139 million.
Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was held under detention in West African country since his deportation from Kenya in June 2021.
In the ruling from a court in Umuahia, Justice E. N. Anyadike also directed the Federal Government of Nigeria to facilitate the leader’s return to Kenya.
Nigerian media outlets reported on Wednesday, October 26, that the state could not prove that the leader was not mistreated during his deportation.
Through his lawyer, Kanu had claimed that he was blindfolded, tortured and chained to the ground for days while under arrest in Kenya.
“It is a clear violation of his fundamental rights under Article 12(4) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.
“I am asking the court to redress myriad of violations that came with the rendition, such as the torture, the unlawful detention and the denial of Kanu’s right to fair hearing as required by law before anybody is expelled from one country to the other,” ruled the judge.
Shortly after his deportation, Nnamdi, through his lawyer, noted that he was initially arrested on suspicion of being a Nigerian terrorist connected to Al Shabaab.
He claimed that he was held incommunicado and that the treatment was so cruel but was eased after the people who had detained him captive discovered that he was not a terrorist.
“The people that abducted him said that they were told by their sponsors that Kanu was a Nigerian terrorist linked to the Islamic terrorists in Kenya, presumably Al-Shabab.
“But after several days when they discovered his true identity, they tended to treat him less badly. Despite that, they told him they felt committed to hand him over to those that hired them,” the lawyer stated at the time.
The incident threatened to affect diplomatic relations between the two countries but Kenya moved swiftly to clear its name.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE
