From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
The family of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has berated the British Government for betrayal following the rendition and trial of their son.
In a statement titled “Britain’s blood-stain hand in the unfolding tragedy of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and signed by the spokesperson of the family, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, the family said it was with hearts burdened by sorrow, it was issuing the declaration to the world.
“We do so not only in defense of our beloved brother, father and uncle, but in defense of truth, justice, and the sacred memory of the over five million Biafrans slaughtered during Britain’s orchestrated genocide from 1967 to 1970. The United Kingdom has never stopped killing Biafrans. Only the methods have changed.”
The statement read in part, “Let the world take note: Were Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to die in the custody of the Nigerian government, it would be to the eternal shame and blood-drenched legacy of the United Kingdom.
“In June 2021, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, a lawful British citizen and leader of a peaceful self-determination movement—IPOB, registered under UK law—was abducted in Nairobi, Kenya, subjected to extraordinary rendition without due process, and illegally transferred to Nigeria by operatives whose trail the British authorities have deliberately ignored.
“This transnational crime was carried out in clear violation of Kenyan and international law. Yet Britain said nothing. Worse still, their silence gave Nigeria the license to act with impunity.
“Why was the British High Commission in Nairobi inactive while a British citizen was drugged, tortured, and flown out in chains? Why was the UK Foreign Office complicit in turning a blind eye to this abduction that violated every known treaty obligation under international human rights and consular law?
“The answer is now painfully clear: Britain was not merely a bystander. Britain was a co-conspirator.
“Following his illegal rendition, the UK Government pretended to be engaged. British Consular officials visited Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in DSS custody in Abuja. He asked one simple question:
‘Why is the United Kingdom allowing a British citizen to be tried for broadcasts made in the UK, where both IPOB and Radio Biafra are lawful entities?’
“The response was both evasive and insidious: ‘We’ll get back to you.’ But they never did.”
While the family is demanding immediate return of their son to either Kenya or the United Kingdom, it said it hold Britain responsible should anything happen to their brother “not because they failed to act, but because they chose to act on the side of evil. Their silence is not neutrality. It is an endorsement of tyranny”, the statement added.
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