Categories: News

British wants FG’s clarification on Kanu’s arrest

Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu

The British High Commission says it is “in the process of seeking clarification” from the Federal Government regarding the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Spokesperson for the British High Commission, Dean Hurlock, disclosed this in a message on Wednesday.

Kanu, who is also a British citizen, was arrested on Sunday and extradited to Nigeria to face trial for alleged treason.

Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, said on Tuesday that the IPOB leader was “intercepted through the collaborative efforts of Nigerian intelligence and Security Services.”

He Although he did not state where the separatist leader was arrested, it was learnt that Kanu based in the UK was lured to an African country with a promise of cash donations and was then picked up.

He was said to have been tracked through some members of IPOB who were recently arrested following a massive military operation in the South-East.

TheCable quoted Hurlock as saying on the matter that the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office “stands ready to provide consular assistance.

“The British High Commission in Abuja is currently in the process of seeking clarification from the Nigerian government about the circumstances of the arrest,” he said.

As Kanu’s case has resumed at the Federal high Court in Abuja, Hurlock said the UK “would expect any trial or legal proceedings to follow due process.”

Kanu was first arrested on October 14, 2015, following years of his campaign for the sovereign state of Biafra.

He was granted bail in April 2017 but fled Nigeria later that year after soldiers invaded his residence in Abia State during a military clampdown on IPOB members.

He was mostly in the UK from where he ran Radio Biafra, using it to engage the government in fierce to preach his separatist cause.

Following his re-arrest, the FG took him to the court on Tuesday where the Department of State Services (DSS) got an order to remand him in their custody until July 26 when his trial will continue.