The British Government has vowed to continue its enquiries on the circumstances that led to the arrest and extraction of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Dean Hurlock, the Head of Communications, British High Commission in Abuja, disclosed this in Abuja.
British reaction is coming in response to media report that the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, rebuffed the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, over Kanu’s arrest.
Hurlock’s response also followed revelation on Friday by Kanu’s lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, regarding how Kanu was arrested and tortured in Kenya before he was brought to the country.
Ejiofor had said in a statement: “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.
“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 counterparts to take over.
“Kenyan Government was deeply involved in the abduction, detention and ill-treatment of my client before the illegal handover to their Nigerian counterpart.”
Responding , Hurlock said: “Our enquiries into the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu continue.”
Recall that Malami, alongside the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba Ahmed, had at a press briefing in Abuja last week, announced how Kanu was intercepted and brought to the country to face trial.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who also briefed journalists in Abuja, said Kanu was trailed for two years by security agencies before he was eventually arrested.
However, both Malami and Mohammed, kept mute over the country where Kanu was arrested, a situation has continued to generate public debate till Friday.
Prior to Ejiofor’s revelation, the Kenyan Ministry of Interior and the Kenyan High Commission in Abuja, had denied the allegation of the involvement of Kenya in the arrest and extradition of Kanu.
Kenyan High Commissioner to Nigeria, Wilfred Machage, at a press briefing on Friday in Abuja, said that the Government of Kenya was not happy at the ridiculous attempt of dragging the name of Kenya and President Uhuru Kenyatta on the matter.
City News
