More details about how the detained leader of proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu was arrested have emerged.
Kanu’s lead defence counsel, Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, on Friday night, confirmed that his client was arrested and detained for eight day by Kenya’s Special Police Force, before he was eventually handed over to their Nigerian counterpart.
Kanu, who is being prosecuted on charges of treasonable felony, was rearrested after jumping bail and repatriated to Nigeria on Sunday.
Read Also: Breaking: IPOB Leader, Nnamdi Kanu Rearrested, Extradited To Nigeria
Ejiofor, who made the disclosure shortly after his team were permitted by Department of State Service (DSS) to have a meeting with Kanu, said his client was arrested in Kenya on June 18.
In a statement he posted on his Facebook page, Ejiofor, said his client was tortured and subjected to various forms of inhuman treatment in Kenya, a situation he said worsened his health condition.
The statement titled ‘Update on meeting with MNK today, 2nd July 2021’, read;
My Client – Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, was actually abducted by the accursed Kenya’s Special Police Force on the 18th of June 2021 at their International Airport, and consequently taken to an undisclosed residence under dehumanizing conditions.
He was tortured and subjected to all forms of inhuman treatment which worsened his health condition. He was illegally detained for eight good days in Kenya before being transferred to their Nigerian counterpart.
Read Also: IPOB: Mazi Nnamdi Kanu Was Arrested In Kenya – Brother
The lawyer stressed;
He was purportedly investigated on a bogus charge while in their custody, ostensibly awaiting to be handed over after their findings proved him innocent of all the spurious allegations. They later beckoned on their Nigerian counterpart to take over.
The Kenya government was deeply involved in the abduction, detention and ill-treatment of my client before the illegal handover to their Nigerian counterpart.
Ejiofor also alleged that the health condition of the IPOB leader was deteriorating, claiming that a scan showed his heart had widened by 13 per cent as a result of how he was handled by Kenyan government.
Read Also: Nnamdi Kanu Re-Arraigned In Court, To Be Remanded Till July 26
He added;
A scan of his heart showed that the heart has enlarged by 13 per cent due to the dehumanising treatment meted out to him. There will be a need for immediate proper medical examination and attention for him.
Mazi Nnamdi Kanu conveyed his goodwill message to all IPOB family members worldwide, and craved your unrelentless prayers. We are going back to the court for the needful. Other details cannot be entertained here. His fortified legal team will address these infractions at the proper forum as we progress. Other details on our legal strategy may not be made public.
With Chukwuokike Abiama on our side, victory is assured. For if God Almighty be for us, who can be against us?
Meanwhile, Kenya has denied involvement in the arrest and extradition of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra.
Kenyan High Commissioner to Nigeria, Amb. Wilfred Machage, who expressed displeasure over reports that Kanu was arrested in his country, admonished Nigerians to ask the Federal Government how the IPOB leader was apprehended.
Kanu’s brother, Kingsley, alleged that the IPOB leader who jumped bail in 2017, was nabbed in Kenya and extradited to Nigeria on Sunday.
A report claimed that Kenyan President, Uhuru kenyatta, was privy to Kanu’s extradition.
However, addressing journalists in Abuja on Friday, the Kenyan envoy dismissed the allegations and challenged anyone with evidence linking his country to the incident to produce it.
He described as unfortunate and libelous the linking of President Kenyatta to Kanu’s arrest, stressing;
I wish to categorically state that we are not happy at this ridiculous attempt of dragging the name of Kenya and President Uhuru Kenyatta in this matter of arrest and extradition of the self-proclaimed IPOB leader.
