Sir/Ma The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which affirms the inherent dignity of every human being, should be treated with the utmost respect by all civil societies and apply equally to all humans. Sadly, this is no longer the case, as it currently appears that some humans are superior to others. These rights should only apply to the supposedly “superior,” but they should be ignored when it comes to the supposedly “less superior” ones.
Governments are obligated to protect all citizens from violence and discrimination, as well as to ensure that they enjoy equal opportunities, in accordance with respect for fundamental rights, which are also enshrined in the commitments made by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the obligations and standards made by the Council of Europe and the European Union as communities of rights and values. However, these rights are currently being flagrantly violated in the case of British citizen Nnamdi Okwu Kanu.
Sir/Ma, I’d like to draw your attention to the problems faced by the Biafran people and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), led by Nnamdi Okwu Kanu. IPOB is a group that wants a referendum so that the Biafran people can decide what happens to them in Nigeria, the unholy and forced union.
You must have been aware that Nigeria is the result of the forced fusion of numerous ethnic groups with distinct cultures. The three main ethnic groups in Nigeria are Biafra, Oduduwa, and Arewa. Oduduwas are a mix of Christians and Muslims, and Arewas are 85% Muslims. Biafrans are 98% Judeo-Christian. Britain combined these three distinct nations in 1914. However, due to their distinct cultural norms and beliefs, the three have never been one entity since this merger.
The Biafra genocidal war of 1967–70 was sparked by this unrest.
One of the worst crimes against humanity ever committed was committed by Nigeria and Britain during the war. There were approximately 5 million Biafran casualties during the three-year conflict. The British food blockade strategy resulted in the deaths of five million Biafrans. Additionally, the root cause of that genocide persists to this day, and a quick Google search will provide you with a wealth of additional information.
Native Individuals of Biafra(IPOB) is a Biafran self-assurance development, framed by Nnamdi Okwu Kanu. By and by, IPOB is an enlisted peacefulness development in north of 100 nations of the world, even in your own country. The primary objective of IPOB is to reestablish the sovereignty of Biafra, which existed even before the British established Nigeria.
The movement’s leader, Mazi Nnamdi, has been pursued by the Nigerian government on multiple occasions in an effort to persuade him to give up his quest for Biafra independence from Nigeria. The IPOB leader was detained for approximately two years after being arrested on treason charges on October 14, 2015, in Lagos, Nigeria, despite numerous court orders granting his release. Until April 28, 2017, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari vehemently opposed Kanu’s release, after which he (Kanu) was later granted strict bail conditions.
As if that weren’t enough, on September 14, 2017, the Nigerian military raided Kanu’s house, killing 28 armless civilians and narrowly avoiding the assassination attempt on Nnamdi Kanu.
In collaboration with the Kenyan government, the Nigerian secret agent abducted Kanu once more on June 27, 2021, in Kenya. After being chained to death for eight days, Kanu was taken to Nigeria and cruelly held in the dungeon of the Department of State Services (DSS).
Following Kanu’s kidnapping, questions were raised over what was named “Kanu’s negligence of the Nigerian constitution” by fleeing bail in 2017. Yet, when Kanu was charged in court on 29 June 2021, Kanu described to the directing appointed authority that the Nigerian military constrained him to escape the country in 2017 when they(military) came to his home to dispose of him on 14 September 2017; an incident that resulted in the deaths of roughly 28 people. “My master, my home was attacked and individuals were killed. If I hadn’t concealed myself, I would have been killed as well. I have been unable to attend court as a result of that. When my house was invaded, “I would have been killed the way others were killed,” Kanu told the presiding judge. On January 19, 2022, Justice Benson Anya of the Abia State High Court ruled that Kanu’s arrest in 2017 was illegal and violated his human rights. The court also ruled that Kanu was abducted and compelled to return to Nigeria in June 2021 was “illegal” in accordance with both Nigerian and international laws.
Read this: Because of a violation of his rights, the court orders FG to pay Nnamdi Kanu N1 billion. The Justice Anya’s Court also took into consideration some of the evidence presented by the IPOB Legal Team and acknowledged that the Nigerian military broke into Kanu’s home in a criminal way in 2017. In addition, Anya ruled that the Nigerian government should release Kanu and compensate him for the violation of his fundamental human rights with a payment of N1 billion.
After that, the UN Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention indicted the governments of Nigeria and Kenya for the IPOB Leader’s unlawful arrest, extraordinary rendition, torture, and continued detention.
The council pleaded with the Nigerian government to “immediately release Kanu unconditionally” and compensate him adequately for the arbitrarily violated fundamental human rights.
This is contained in the 16-page report, dated July 20, 2022, was taken on April 4 by the UN Working Gathering at its 93rd meeting, held between Walk 30 – April 8, 2022.
Following suit, on October 13, 2022, three justices at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, Nigeria, decided that Kanu’s rendition from Kenya was illegal and that he should be discharged and acquitted. This decision was made in response to Kanu’s appeal challenging the criminal charges against him.
Sadly, Kanu is still being held by the DSS to this day.
It is still great you know that Nigeria government on twentieth September, 2017 erroneously restricted IPOB as a psychological militant association, however a Bureaucratic High Court in Abuja, managed by Equity Binta Nyako had likewise on Walk 2, 2017, decided that “IPOB is certainly not an unlawful association.”
READ ALSO: “The court, which struck out six of the 11-count criminal charges the federal government preferred against the IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and three other pro-Biafra agitators, declared that IPOB was not unlawful,” Nnamdi Kanu claims.
“It may be true that IPOB is not registered in Nigeria, but does that make it an illegal organization?” asked the presiding judge.
You should also keep in mind that the Nigerian government is committing a wide range of crimes in Biafraland while Kanu is still in prison and linking them to his IPOB and other supporters, all in an effort to smear the freedom fighter and his movement in front of the international community.
Sir/Ma, I appoint you to use your good office to inform the Nigerian government that their actions are in violation of international law because you are a person of integrity and committed to maintaining order. It is a bridge to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s right.
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