May 26, (THEWILL) – The family of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has sued UK Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, for not acknowledging that the IPOB leader, a UK citizen, has been a victim of extraordinary rendition and illegal detention.
Kanu’s family in a suit by her Counsel, Shirin Marker, solicitor at Bindmans LLP, wants the court to lawfully determine what further steps the UK Government should be taking to assist him, given the gross violation of his human rights.
The family accused the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of abdication of its responsibility, to acknowledge and respond to Kanu’s extraordinary rendition.
The family’s counsel, Bindmans LLP, has sent a pre-action letter on behalf of the family, to the Foreign Secretary, Truss, challenging her failure to acknowledge that Kanu, has been subjected to extraordinary rendition and torture.
According to a statement by the family’s Nigerian lawyer, the action is one of the steps toward securing justice for the IPOB leader, who has been in detention since last year.
“The case raises important points of principle, not only in relation to extraordinary rendition but on the legal duties the UK has when its citizens’ human rights are abused abroad”, the lawyer said.
The law firm in the suit contends that there is compelling evidence that Kanu was renditioned, adding that neither Nigeria nor Kenya has provided any credible evidence to suggest otherwise.
“The English courts have considered the question of the UK’s obligations to British citizens who have been extraordinarily rendered in the case of Abbasi v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs [2002] EWCA Civ 1598.
“There, the Court of Appeal stressed that in order to properly consider whether to make diplomatic representations or take more serious action to protect a British citizen’s interests, the Foreign Secretary must start by reaching a clear view on whether its citizen has suffered a ‘denial of justice’ as a result of a violation of their rights and freedoms as guaranteed by international law”, Kanu family’s counsel stated.
Kanu was renditioned from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021 and has remained in detention since then.
The Federal Government has denied that Kanu was renditioned, claiming he was intercepted in Kenya with the help of security agencies.
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