The family of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has raised the alarm over his deteriorating condition in detention, warning the United Kingdom that allowing him to die in custody would bring “eternal shame” to Britain.
In a statement issued yesterday by Kanu’s younger brother, Emmanuel, the family accused the UK government of failing to protect its citizen despite his alleged illegal rendition from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021 and his ongoing trial.
“With hearts burdened by sorrow, we, the family of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, issue this solemn declaration to the world. We do so not only in defence of our beloved brother, father and uncle, but in defence of truth, justice, and the sacred memory of the over five million Biafrans slaughtered during Britain’s orchestrated genocide from 1967 to 1970,” the statement read.
The family alleged that Britain, which armed Nigeria during the civil war, had now “graduated to a far more cowardly crime – the silent orchestration and diplomatic shielding of an illegal rendition, torture and political trial of a British citizen for exercising freedoms guaranteed under British law.”
Emmanuel Kanu recounted that his brother, a lawful British citizen and IPOB leader, was abducted in Nairobi, drugged, and flown to Nigeria without due process, in clear violation of international law. He lamented that the British High Commission in Kenya and the UK Foreign Office “turned a blind eye” to the abduction and subsequent trial.
“Let the world take note: should Mazi Nnamdi Kanu die in the custody of the Nigerian government, it would be to the eternal shame and blood-drenched legacy of the United Kingdom,” the family declared.
The statement accused Britain of complicity, alleging that UK authorities tacitly supported the amendment of charges against Kanu to remove references to offences allegedly committed in London, thereby avoiding their jurisdictional responsibility.
“Despite IPOB’s legal status in the UK and the total absence of any UK court order outlawing its activities, the British Government has continually refused to challenge Kanu’s unlawful prosecution in Nigeria,” the statement said.
The family further accused Britain of harbouring a “generational hatred” for the Igbo people, citing the role of the UK during the civil war and its alleged indifference to Kanu’s plight.
Among its demands, the family urged the UK government to:
1. Publicly accept responsibility for its alleged complicity in the rendition.
2. Demand Kanu’s return to either Kenya or the United Kingdom.
3. Cease all diplomatic and legal support sustaining the trial in Nigeria.
4. Initiate a parliamentary inquiry into the roles of its high commissions in Nairobi and Abuja.
“If anything happens to our brother, the Kanu family will hold the United Kingdom responsible,” Emmanuel Kanu warned. “Their silence is not neutral; it is an endorsement of tyranny.”
