Johnson, a US Democrat serving as the 139th District State Representative, pleaded with the Supreme Court to sustain the decisions of lower courts that have mandated Nnamdi Kanu’s unconditional release.
Ahead of Kanu’s case before the supreme court on December 15, 2023, Johnson said in a statement provided to journalists on Tuesday by Kanu’s Special Counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, that the extraordinary rendition of the IPOB leader from Kenya to Nigeria violated both national and international law and called for Kanu’s release.
He said that the process of rebuilding trust in the Nigerian judiciary will be accelerated by Kanu’s release.
The American legislator declared, “The Nigerian Supreme Court will determine on December 15, 2023, whether or not to uphold the numerous uncontested judgments and decrees from other legal jurisdictions that have demanded Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s (MNK) unconditional release. Legal experts both inside and outside of Nigeria generally anticipate that the Supreme Court would uphold these numerous rulings and directives.
“The following facts are undeniable: On June 27, 2021, the Government of Nigeria (GON) exceptionally renditioned MNK from Kenya. Both then and now, he leads the nonviolent Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which promotes a referendum overseen by an international body to settle the Biafran dispute inside the Nigerian political system.
The High Court of Enugu State ruled on October 30, 2023, that the GON and the Southeast Governor’s Forum had violated Section 42 of the Nigerian Constitution by designating IPOB as a terrorist organization. Therefore, it is unlawful and inherently discriminatory to label IPOB, its leadership, and its members as terrorists, both now and in the future. As a result, MNK’s extended solitary incarceration is no longer justified by law.
Numerous other Nigerian courts that had earlier rendered judgments on the case, such as the Court of Appeals in Abuja and the High Court in Umuhia, Abia State, had also come to identical findings and had mandated MNK’s immediate and unconditional release. MNK is not currently facing any legal action.
The United Nations Human Rights Council said on July 20, 2022, that MNK’s solitary imprisonment violated international human rights conventions, to which Nigeria is a signatory, and that he should be released without delay.
It is undeniable that MNK was subjected to Extraordinary Rendition, and that this practice is prohibited by both Nigerian and international law. I hereby urge the Nigerian Supreme Court to order Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s immediate and unconditional release to uphold or confirm the well-researched rulings of several international tribunals as well as those of its lower courts. The predicted decision would expedite the process of rebuilding trust in the Nigerian judiciary, the highest court of which is the Supreme Court.