From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Family of detained leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has flayed United Kingdom’s inaction over his extraordinary rendition from Kenya by the Federal Government.
The family said the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Inquiry into the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) handling of state level hostage situations has published a submission by Bindmans LLP, on behalf of Nnamdi Kanu’s family, into the failures of the FCDO to take appropriate action in response to Kanu’s alleged torture, extraordinary rendition and arbitrary detention.
In a statement, yesterday, the family said despite the Court of Appeal ruling and condemnation by the United Nations (UN), successive foreign secretaries of UK have been unwilling to reach any firm view as to whether Kanu was subject to extraordinary rendition, nor have they called for his release.
“Kanu remains in detention despite the UN and Court of Appeal having concluded that he was subject to extraordinary rendition and calling for his release on the basis that his detention is arbitrary.
“Bindmans represented Kanu’s family in a judicial review challenge to the former foreign secretary, Liz Truss’, unwillingness to reach a decisive view that Kanu was a victim of extraordinary rendition and other human rights abuses by the Nigerian government, an approach maintained by her successor, James Cleverly.”
The statement recalled that Kanu is a British national who resides in the UK with his wife and children, but was on June 19, 2021 abducted from the airport in Nairobi, Kenya, detained and tortured for about 10 days in Kenya before his extraordinary rendition to Nigeria, to face criminal prosecution in relation to his activities with the IPOB.
The family said in light of Kanu’s ongoing detention, it hopes the following recommendations made in the submission will be taken into consideration by the inquiry and by the British government which it believed will lead to a positive shift in the FCDO’s current approach to its British nationals detained abroad.”
“The FCDO should reassess its policy in respect of providing consular access to dual British nationals abroad, particularly in circumstances where there is a serious risk of torture, and where there are grounds to suspect that serious and egregious violations of international law have been committed by the state in question against the British national in their custody.
“The FCDO should ensure it provides timely and unprompted updates to family members about the steps it is taking on their behalf. The FCDO should be open and transparent with family members about its justification for adopting a certain approach and disregarding others.
“The FCDO should adopt and implement a specific policy in respect of appropriate action to be taken on behalf of British nationals who have been subject to extraordinary rendition. The default position under that policy ought to be that, where British citizens have been extraordinarily rendered and/or tortured and then arbitrarily detained overseas, the British government will take all available diplomatic and legal steps to ensure their release and return to the UK.”
The statement added that Kanu’s family was represented at the inquiry by John Halford and Shirin Marker of Bindmans LLP, together with Charlotte Kilroy KC of Blackstone Chambers and Tatyana Eatwell of Doughty Street Chambers, London.