The brother of a British national being held in Nigeria after falling victim to extraordinary rendition has accused the UK government of turning its back, and called on Keir Starmer to “wake up” and “defend British citizens”.
Kingsley Kanu, the brother of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob), a prominent separatist movement proscribed in Nigeria, said the UK government had failed to intervene in his brother’s case.
“Up to this day, the previous government and today’s government have not been able to accept or to take the stand and call the Nigerian government to say stop,” Kingsley said in an interview from Germany. “They should wake up to defend British citizens. I find it very astonishing.”
Nnamdi, a dual national and father of two, had been wanted by Nigerian authorities since 2015 after setting up a digital radio station, Radio Biafra, at his London home around the time when mass Biafra secessionist protests erupted in Nigeria for the first time since the civil war.
He fled while on bail in 2017, after Nigerian security forces stormed his residence in Nigeria in an operation coded “Python Dance”, according to court documents. At least 28 members of Ipob were killed.
In 2021, Nnamdi was arrested by Nigerian authorities in Kenya and taken to Nigeria in an act of extraordinary rendition – an unlawful inter-state transfer – family, lawyers, the UN and a Nigerian court have said. He has since pleaded not guilty to 15 criminal charges relating to terrorism and treason, seven of which he still faces.
The British government faced a legal challenge from Kingsley Kanu over its handling of the case, which was ultimately dismissed. However, the judge found, citing the Nigerian court, that Nnamdi had been subject to extraordinary rendition, despite the refusal by a number of former foreign secretaries to take such a view.
In 2023, a UK court of appeal judgment said the government position “might well be different” if the Nigerian supreme court upheld a ruling by the Nigerian court of appeal that Nnamdi had been extraordinarily rendered.
Despite the Nigerian supreme court now having done this, Kingsley said the government had turned its back on his brother. He said the Nigerian supreme court ruling in December 2023 provided a clear route for the UK government to take action. But Kingsley has yet to hear from Starmer, the fourth prime minister during the period of his brother’s detention.
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: “We are providing consular support to Mr Kanu and remain in contact with his family and legal representatives. We have raised his case with the Nigerian authorities.”
Nnamdi has monthly consular visits, according to his brother, who is able to communicate with him through lawyers and his younger brother. His family and lawyers have previously raised concerns over Nnamdi’s treatment after he has been held largely in solitary confinement, in poor conditions and without access to medical treatment for a heart condition.
“The high court and Nigeria have spoken,” Kingsley said. “We have to stand on that, we have to implement that.”
The Nigerian embassy has been approached for comment.
