Headline

IPOB: Why FG Can’t Reveal How Nnamdi Kanu Was Extradited -Lawyer

Published

3 years ago

February 7, 2022

Editor

Aloy Ejimakor, Special Counsel for the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has challenged the Nigerian government to reveal how the IPOB leader was arrested and extradited.

In a statement on Monday, Ejimakor described the extradition of Kanu as illegal and a “gross misconduct”.

The statement was titled, ‘Absence of lawful extradition is the reason why Nigeria cannot explain how it intercepted Nnamdi Kanu’.

Kanu, who is facing an 11-count charge of treason, treasonable felony, terrorism, and illegal possession of firearms, among others, allegedly jumped bail in 2017 and left the country, only to re-emerge in Israel and then in the United Kingdom.

The former London estate agent was rearrested in June 2021. He was initially arrested in late 2015 after calling for a separate state for Biafra, in South-East Nigeria.

He was re-arraigned before a Federal High Court in Abuja and ordered to be remanded in the custody of the DSS, while the case was adjourned.

Following the sudden appearance of Kanu in a Federal High Court in Abuja on June 29, 2021, the Attorney-General of Nigeria, Abubakar Malami, SAN, at a press conference, stated that Kanu was “intercepted through the collaborative efforts of Nigerian intelligence and Security Services”.

But the lawyer complained that beyond “the bland use of the word ‘interception’, neither the Attorney-General nor any other Nigerian official has explained how and where this infamous interception occurred or whether it occurred under the pertinent legal framework or not”.

He said, “From published accounts, all efforts by the media (domestic and international) to elicit details of this interception have met a stubborn official silence. And it appears that the same is true with myriad diplomatic inquiries issuing to Nigeria from the international community, notably from the United Kingdom and United Nations.

“Conversely, Nnamdi Kanu had, in various sworn statements, given credible accounts and details that prove that the so-called interception is simply that he was officially kidnapped, disappeared, tortured in Kenya, and extraordinarily renditioned to Nigeria. During the hearing of Kanu’s fundamental rights suit in Abia State (which he won), the Nigerian government could not explain how Kanu ended up in Nigeria, thus confirming that Kanu was not extradited but illegally renditioned. If Kanu was extradited, the Nigerian government would have been very forthright with it, especially given the insurmountable prosecutorial barrier that comes with extraordinary rendition.

“It is therefore instructive that, to date, the Nigerian government has neither – in court or public – contradicted Kanu’s accounts, nor offered any alternative account that may suggest that Kanu’s return to Nigeria was secured through some due process of law.

“On its part, the Kenyan Government has, in the public and in processes filed in court, vehemently denied that Kanu was subjected to any extradition (or even deportation) proceedings in Kenya; and Nigeria has deadpanned to Kenya’s self-righteous denials.

“To be sure, Nnamdi Kanu, a non-national of Kenya, was legally admitted to Kenya on 5th May, 2021 and then expelled or was transferred from Kenya to Nigeria on 27th June, 2021 without ‘a decision taken in accordance with the law’. Both Nigeria and Kenya are State Parties to the parent African Charter that grandfathered the similar law Nigeria later domesticated into its municipal laws.

“It is trite that a renditioned fugitive suspect cannot be subjected to trial. Thus, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu should be restitutioned or restored to the status quo, whether to Kenya or Britain, at his option. It is inherently contradictory to postulate that a renditioned suspect will get a fair trial from the jurisdiction that renditioned him.

“By its infamous nature, extraordinary rendition destroys every prospect for a fair trial. Therefore, the next best thing for Nigerian authorities to do is to toe the path of honor and contrition by releasing Nnamdi Kanu unconditionally. In the interim, it may choose the easier option of forbearing any objections to reinstatement of Nnamdi Kanu’s bail, which will instantly clear the judicial path to his release.

“Going forward, the authorities can be guided by the recent judgment of the Abia State High which exonerated Kanu from the supervening event that disquieted his bail and ultimately culminated in the extraordinary rendition.”

(PUNCH)

Headline

FULL LIST: Nigeria Emerges As Africa’s Third Most Formidable Military Force

Published

6 hours ago

June 23, 2025

Editor

Nigeria has secured the third position among African nations with the most formidable military forces in the 2025 Global Firepower Military Strength Index, according to Global Firepower’s annual report cited by The PUNCH on Monday.

The index evaluates 145 countries based on over 60 metrics, including troop numbers, equipment capabilities, financial resources, logistical efficiency, and geographical advantages to assess military strength.

In the 2025 rankings, Egypt maintains its lead as Africa’s top military power, followed by Algeria in second place and South Africa in fourth. Nigeria’s rise to third underscores its growing military capabilities, driven by investments in personnel, equipment, and counter-terrorism efforts.

Here is a list of African countries ranked in the 2025 Global Firepower Index.

1. Egypt (19)

2. Algeria (26)

3. Nigeria (31)

4. South Africa (40)

5. Ethiopia (52)

6. Angola (56)

7. Morocco (59)

8. Democratic Republic of the Congo (66)

9. Sudan (73)

10. Libya (76)

11. Kenya (83)

12. Chad (84)

13. Mozambique (89)

14. Tunisia (90)

15. Tanzania (92)

16. Cameroon (93)

17. Ivory Coast (102)

18. Mali (104)

19. Zambia (109)

20. Ghana (110)

21. Zimbabwe (111)

22. South Sudan (113)

23. Uganda (114)

24. Namibia (116)

25. Niger (119)

26. Eritrea (120)

27. Republic of the Congo (121)

28. Botswana (122)

29. Mauritania (123)

30. Senegal (125)

31. Burkina Faso (129)

32. Madagascar (130)

33. Gabon (133)

34. Liberia (138)

35. Sierra Leone (140)

36. Somalia (142)

37. Central African Republic (143)

38. Benin (144)

Headline

Middle East Crisis Dominates EU Foreign Ministers’ Brussels Meeting

Published

6 hours ago

June 23, 2025

Editor

The foreign ministers of EU member states on Monday were set to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East at their June meeting in Brussels.

The talks come amid growing international alarm after the United States joined Israel in launching strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

A key question for the ministers will be whether Europe can help steer the crisis back towards diplomacy.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Sunday urged all sides “to step back, return to the negotiating table and prevent further escalation,” in a statement posted on X.

Headline

US Says Strikes ‘Devastated’ Iran’s Nuclear Program

Published

21 hours ago

June 22, 2025

Editor

Unprecedented US strikes have wrecked Iran’s nuclear program, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday as Washington sought to assess what remained of the three targeted sites.

The surprise strikes threaten to deepen conflict in the Middle East after Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran, with Tehran vowing to retaliate against US involvement.

But the United States said President Donald Trump wanted peace and urged Iran to end the conflict after strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, along with nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz.

“We devastated the Iranian nuclear program,” Hegseth told a Pentagon press briefing, adding that the operation “did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people.”

Trump “seeks peace, and Iran should take that path”, Hegseth said. “This mission was not, and has not been, about regime change.”

Standing beside Hegseth, top US general Dan Caine said that “it would be way too early for me to comment on what may or may not still be there.”

“Initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,” he told reporters.

– Protests in Tehran –

People gathered in the center of Tehran to protest against US and Israeli attacks, waving flags and chanting slogans, state TV showed.

Trump claimed total success for the operation in an address to the nation hours after the attack, and Vice President JD Vance followed up on Sunday morning.

“We know that we set the Iranian nuclear program back substantially last night, whether it’s years or beyond,” he told ABC.

“We’re not at war with Iran — we’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program,” he added. “The president took decisive action to destroy that program last night.”

In Tehran, AFP journalists said the roar of aircraft flying over the city was heard repeatedly for the first time since Israel’s initial attacks.

The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency said it had not detected any increase in radiation levels at the nuclear sites and Tehran said Sunday there were no signs of contamination.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters in Istanbul the United States and Israel had “crossed a very big red line,” asserting Iran would continue to defend itself “by all means necessary.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the US strikes, saying Trump’s decision to “target Iran’s nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history.”

The Israeli military was also checking the results of the US raid on the deeply buried nuclear facility in Fordo, with a spokesman saying it was “too soon” to know if Iran had removed enriched uranium from the site.

The main US strike group was seven B-2 Spirit bombers flying 18 hours from the US mainland to Iran with multiple aerial refuelings, Caine said.

– Global concern –

In response to the US attack, Iran’s armed forces said they targeted multiple sites in Israel including Ben Gurion airport, the country’s main international gateway near Tel Aviv.

Israeli rescuers said at least 23 people were wounded.

In Jerusalem, Claudio Hazan, a 62-year-old software engineer, said he hoped the US intervention would hasten an end to the Iran-Israel war.

“Israel by itself would not stop… and it would take longer,” he said.

Israel said it had launched fresh strikes on western Iran and in Qom, south of Tehran. Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported four Revolutionary Guard members were killed in strikes on a military base in the city’s north.

The Israeli military said it had “struck missile launchers ready to launch toward Israeli territory, soldiers in the Iranian Armed Forces, and swiftly neutralized the launchers that launched missiles toward Israeli territory.”

Iran’s Shargh newspaper reported that a “massive explosion was heard” Sunday in Bushehr province, home to Iran’s only nuclear power plant.

Iranian news agencies also reported strikes in Yazd province.

The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, which had been mediating Iran-US nuclear talks, criticized the US move and urged de-escalation.

The European Union called on all sides “to step back,” while stressing Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

The Iranian foreign minister said he would travel to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

Following his address, Trump warned Iran against retaliation. Iran and its proxies have previously attacked US military bases in Iraq and elsewhere in the region.

Iran’s Huthi allies in Yemen on Sunday repeated their threat to resume attacks in the Red Sea if Washington joined the war, saying they were ready to target US ships and warships.

The US president had stepped up his rhetoric against Iran since Israel first struck the country on June 13, repeating his insistence it could never have nuclear weapons.

Tehran denies seeking an atomic bomb. On Saturday, President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran’s right to pursue a civilian nuclear program “cannot be taken away… by threats or war.”