Aloy Ejimakor, a Special Counsel to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has questioned why the Federal Government is still keeping his client in detention.
He claimed that the Federal Government is aware it cannot secure a conviction against Kanu with the evidence currently available.
Ejimakor argued that it is time to end Kanu’s trial, stating that Kanu has been subjected to a trial by ordeal rather than a judicial process.
He emphasized that the evidence against Kanu is insufficient for a conviction, making his continued detention unjust.
Kanu was initially arrested in 2015 and granted bail in 2017. He fled to Europe following a military invasion of his residence in Abia State. In 2021, Kanu was rearrested in Kenya and brought back to Nigeria through an extraordinary rendition.
Since his return, Kanu has appeared in various courts in Nigeria and appealed to the United Nations to secure his release. Despite court rulings granting him bail, the Nigerian Government has refused to release him.
However, in a video released yesterday, the lawyer detailed Kanu’s ordeal from his initial arrest in 2015 through to his rearrest in June 2021 in Kenya.
Ejimakor stated, “If Kanu was guilty, why has it taken so long to bring him to trial since 2017? This is not a judicial trial but a trial by ordeal, a trial by fire, imprisonment before conviction.
“They want to keep him jailed because they know a conviction is impossible with the available evidence, further complicated by the extraordinary rendition.”
Ejimakor highlighted that a Federal High Court in Nigeria ruled in October 2022 that Kanu’s extraordinary rendition violated his constitutional rights, awarding him N500 million in damages.
Additionally, the United Nations, the Nigerian Court of Appeal, the Federal High Court, and state High Courts have awarded Kanu a total of one billion naira, giving him four major legal victories against the Nigerian Government.
“What more evidence do you need? This is persecution, not prosecution. It’s time to end this. On Kanu’s behalf, I call on all people of goodwill to speak up,” Ejimakor urged,
He concluded by stating that Kanu symbolizes the injustices faced by the Igbo people and their relatives in former Eastern Nigeria since the country’s founding, particularly since 2015. Ejimakor stressed that fighting back should not involve violence.
