… Awards₦120 Million
By Chris Njoku
In what can be considered an epical ruling last month the High Court of Kenya in Nairobi announced that the abduction, secret detention, torture, and forced transfer of Nnamdi Kanu—who leads the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)—from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021 was a violation of his fundamental rights as outlined in Kenya’s constitution. The court deemed these actions unlawful and unconstitutional.
The judgment highlighted that Kanu’s arrest, solitary confinement, torture, and the denial of basic necessities like food, medication, freedom of movement, and due process amounted to serious violations of his rights.
The court ordered the Kenyan government to pay a compensation of 10 million Kenyan shillings (approximately ₦120 million) and criticized both the Kenyan and Nigerian governments for their collusion in this rendition, which occurred without any legal process.
IPOB referred to the verdict as a “judicial earthquake,” affirming their long-held belief that Kanu’s removal from Kenya was an act of state-sponsored kidnapping rather than a legitimate extradition.
