By Akinwale Kasali
The continued incarceration of Leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, has been condemned by a Human Rights Group, Legal Advocacy Centre, PLAC. The condemnation came on Friday, December 9th, 2022, in Abuja.
The Human Rights Advocacy Group slammed the Federal Government for flouting the Court of Appeal judgement that frowned at the continued detention of Kanu.
Clement Nwankwo, the Executive Director of the Group faulted the FG for not respecting the Rule of Law, stressing that the Federal Court of Appeal in Abuja had ruled that the FG breached all local and international laws in its forceful rendition of Kanu to Nigeria, an action that nullified the charges of terrorism charges against him.
Nwankwo made this assertion at a Press Briefing in commemoration of the Global Human Rights Day.
It would be recalled that following the Appeal Court Ruling on the release of Kanu, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, said that that the IPOB leader was only freed of one charge and not acquitted, insisting that the FG would pursue other charges against him.
Querying the decision of the FG not to respect the Appeal Court Ruling, the Group said it is an abuse of Kanu’s Fundamental Human Rights, expressing concerns that Nigeria was gradually drifting away from its responsibilities as enshrined in the Country’s Constitution and various International Human Rights Treaty obligations.
Nwankwo added that not only has the Country failed to protect its citizens from the erosion of their basic and fundamental rights, the Government was often found complicit in actions that deny rather than enhance those rights.
He said: “For instance, an October 13 ruling by the Court of Appeal specifically reprimanded the Government for its role in abducting a wanted citizen from a foreign country without due process in order to bring him for trial.
“Such an illegal action by the government in the terrorism and treasonable felony trial of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, nullified the government’s case, making it ‘untriable’ in Nigeria, the court said in its landmark ruling.
“But the Government has persisted in its ways by disregarding the court ruling and seeking an appeal at the same time. Both the federal and state governments have also demonstrated a lack of tolerance for criticism.
“They have often chosen to clamp down on critics by deploying regulatory powers, citing bogus laws and using security forces. Examples include the ban of Twitter and the numerous occasions where government officials, including the president’s wife, unlawfully arrest and detain critics and journalists.”
He recommended a change in attitude where the Government sees itself as the prime defender of human rights rather than their prime violator.
Speaking further, Nwankwo also stated that there was an urgent need to tackle the grazing conflict sweeping the country as it’s directly implicated in food shortages and their rising costs.
“The Government should redouble efforts to tackle pervasive insecurity in the country and reassert its control over the country’s territory, the report said.
“PLAC calls on the authorities to launch investigations into allegations that some members of the security forces are showing partisanship to some sides in the grazing conflict, to nip such practices in the bud, if true, and boost the citizens’ trust in the armed forces,” he said.
