Ifeanyi Ejiofor, one of the lawyers representing the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu, has accused the British government of abandoning his client to his fate.
He said during an interview on Arise TV on Wednesday that Kanu was not a Nigerian citizen at the time of his arrest, as he had denounced his Nigerian citizenship five years ago while adding that he was arrested as a British citizen.
Ejiofor said the way the British Government was responding to the current travails of Kanu who is their citizen, leaves a lot to be desired, as it seems they have washed their hands off him.
He also accused the British Government and the British High Commission of not doing much to help Kanu despite carrying the British passport at the time of his arrest.
Ejiofor who wondered why the Commission has not visited Kanu since he was “abducted” in Kenya and brought to Nigeria, compared the role the UK played in 2015 when Kanu was first arrested and the present which are at great variance.
He noted that in 2015, the British High Commission was regularly visiting Kanu while in detention and doing everything possible to secure his release, but this time around, the Commission is only paying lip service to help him.
“I can confirm to you that the British High Commission is not doing much about this case. I can confirm to you that there is every likelihood of connivance in what happened to my client.
“Because some times in 2015 when my client was arrested, I know how they were keeping in constant communication with him and visiting him regularly both when he was in DSS custody and when he was transferred to prison.
“But as of yesterday (Tuesday), a British national was arrested and to date, they have not visited him even when we have officially notified them of the situation.
“As at the time he was arrested, he was arrested as a British national because he had renounced his Nigerian citizenship over five years ago. And they are still talking about offering him consular services”, Ejiofor fumed.
Ejiofor also cautioned the media to stop describing the ordeal of Kanu in Kenya as an arrest because in legal terms, according to him, it was a clear case of abduction, illegal imprisonment, torture and extraordinary rendition.
“At the time he was abducted, his associates in Nairobi started looking for him. They searched in all the police stations and other law enforcement agencies and he was nowhere to be found.
“My client was abducted and detained in an illegal facility for eight days after which he was renditioned back to Nigeria,” he said.
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