Nnamdi Kanu‘s family has been given permission by a UK court to sue the UK government for failing to stop Mr. Kanu’s unlawful extraordinary rendition from Kenya to Nigeria.
The action was brought before the High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division, according to Mr. Kanu’s special counsel Aloy Ejimakor, who made this announcement on Twitter on Friday. Mr. Kanu’s brother, Kingsley, filed the petition.
It’s unclear exactly when the judge gave approval.
However, there are hints that the hearing took place on Thursday.
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The British government’s “silence” about Mr. Kanu’s claimed illegal extraordinary rendition to Nigeria had prompted Mr. Kanu’s family to threaten legal action against the country.
The family said that the current British Prime Minister, Liz Truss, who served as the UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs at the time, disregarded “overwhelming evidence” that Mr. Kanu had been unjustly extradited to Nigeria by the Nigerian government.
Nigerian-British national Mr. Kanu is the head of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The IPOB leader, who had been granted bail in April 2017, left the nation when the Nigerian military invaded his residence in Afara-Ukwu, close to Umuahia, Abia State, in September of that year.
In June 2021, around four years later, he was detained once more in Kenya and returned to Nigeria. He is being held in Abuja while awaiting his terrorism trial.
Since his alleged extraordinary rendition to Nigeria, the UK’s two foreign secretaries, Dominic Raab and then Ms. Truss, before she became prime minister, have declined to confirm or deny Mr. Kanu’s involvement in such a case.
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Mr. Kingsley, the claimant, requested permission for a judicial review of the UK government’s “silence” over Mr. Kanu’s claimed detention and trial in Nigeria during this most recent court hearing.
The judge, Justice Ellenbogen, ruled that “the application for authorization to apply for judicial review is granted.”
“The application will be heard in person in the Royal Courts of Justice for one day. If the parties disagree with this directive, they must submit a documented time estimate within 7 days after the order’s service.
The defendant in the lawsuit is James Cleverly, the recently appointed UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs.
According to a story by The Guardian UK, Shirin Marker, from the Bindmans LLP, who is representing Mr. Kingsley, said Mr. Cleverly must come to a “clear decision” on whether her client’s brother was the victim of extraordinary rendition in order to determine what steps to take to help him.
She declared, “The evidence at this time demonstrates that he (Mr. Kanu) has been the victim of extraordinary rendition and torture or cruel treatment.”
