…Says injustice, political exclusion fuelling agitation in South-East
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
The Executive Director of the Rule of Law Accountability and Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Mr. Okechukwu Nwanguma, has said that Nigeria has lost the jurisdiction to try the detained Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Nwanguma argued that Kanu’s abduction and extraordinary rendition from Kenya — in violation of international law — stripped Nigeria of the legal right to prosecute him.
Speaking during the October edition of the Ikengaonline Town Hall Meeting on Thursday night, the RULAAC boss said the renewed agitation in the South-East was a direct consequence of decades of injustice, marginalisation, and political exclusion of the region by the Nigerian state.
He spoke on the theme: “Nnamdi Kanu’s Continued Detention, IPOB and Insecurity in the South East.”
Nwanguma expressed shock that despite multiple court judgments ordering Kanu’s release, the Federal Government had continued to hold him in defiance of the law.
“The agitation in the South-East did not begin with Nnamdi Kanu. It is deeply rooted in decades of political exclusion, economic marginalisation, and feelings of injustice,” he said.
“After the civil war, the Federal Government promised reconciliation, reconstruction, and rehabilitation — the famous three Rs. Instead, what followed was prolonged neglect, erosion of trust, and alienation between the South-East and the Nigerian state.”
He described the rise of IPOB as a “symptom, not the cause” of the region’s political problem, insisting that a political solution — not militarised repression — was the only path to peace.
Accuses FG of Double Standards
Nwanguma accused the Federal Government of applying double standards in its handling of issues affecting Kanu and the Igbo people.
He wondered why government ignored its own courts’ rulings ordering Kanu’s release, despite similar cases being resolved through dialogue and amnesty in other regions.
“Both Nigerian and Kenyan courts ruled that Nnamdi Kanu’s extraordinary rendition was unlawful. The Court of Appeal in 2022 discharged and acquitted him, holding that Nigeria lost jurisdiction to try him since his rendition was illegal,” he said.
“That judgment remains valid and binding as it has not been set aside — only stayed procedurally. Even the Supreme Court in 2023 acknowledged that his abduction and rendition were grave violations of the law.”
He noted that several international bodies — including the United Nations Human Rights Council (July 2022) and the UN Special Rapporteur on Counterterrorism and Human Rights (March 2023) — had declared Kanu’s rendition unlawful, directing Nigeria to release him unconditionally and pay reparations.
“These findings bind Nigeria under the UN Charter and customary international law,” he said.
“The Federal High Court also recognised that proceedings arising from such illegality offend due process and constitutional safeguards.”
‘Why Is Kanu’s Case Different?’
Nwanguma questioned why the government had treated Kanu differently from other agitators and armed groups in the country.
“Niger Delta militants were granted amnesty, awarded contracts, and given government appointments. The Yoruba self-determination advocate was released. The government negotiates openly with bandits and terrorists responsible for killings and kidnappings — even offering them reintegration,” he said.
“Yet, Nnamdi Kanu, whose agitation is political, is still in detention despite court orders. This double standard reinforces the painful perception that the South-East is treated under a different set of rules.”
He recalled that former President Muhammadu Buhari once threatened to deal with the South-East “in the language they understand,” a remark that led to the deletion of his post by Twitter and the subsequent ban of the platform in Nigeria.
Nwanguma also condemned the 2022 directive allegedly issued by the then Inspector General of Police for officers in the South-East to “go after IPOB members and kill them,” noting that the order led to an escalation of arbitrary arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings in the region.
“Following that order, there was a surge in arbitrary arrests, invasion of public spaces, torture, and enforced disappearances without due process. Nobody has been held accountable,” he lamented.
