Kanu’s extraordinary rendition suit rescheduled for October 4

A Federal High Court at Umuahia, Abia State capital, has fixed Tuesday, October 4, for hearing on the extraordinary rendition suit filed in March by lawyers to incarcerated leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

Confirming this on Friday on his Facebook page, Kanu’s Special Counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, described as the suit as a “sui generis (of special class)” which he said “is primarily aimed at redressing the unlawful expulsion or extraordinary rendition of Kanu, which is a violation of his fundamental rights under Article 12(4) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, as well as Chapter IV of the Nigerian Constitution.”

Part of statement titled “RE: Court to hear Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s extraordinary rendition case on 4th October” as seen by Ripples Nigeria reads:

“On 4th October 2022, the Federal High Court, Umuahia will hear Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s extraordinary rendition suit which I had filed before the court in March this year.

“The Suit is sui generis (of a special class) and it is primarily aimed at redressing the infamous unlawful expulsion or extraordinary rendition of Nnamdi Kanu, which is a clear violation of his fundamental rights under Article 12(4) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, as well as Chapter IV of the Nigerian Constitution.

“In addition to the rendition, I am asking the Court to redress the myriad violations that came with the rendition, such as the torture, the unlawful detention and the denial of the right to fair hearing which is required by law before anybody can be expelled from one country to the other.

“I am also seeking to halt his prosecution and restore him to the status quo before he was rendition on 19th June, 2021.

“You will recall that on 19th January, 2022, the High Court of Abia State decided that portion of violation of Kanu’s fundamental rights that occurred in 2017.

“Even as I had made claims that bordered on rendition, the Court declined jurisdiction on grounds that rendition, being related to extradition, lies within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High Court. This is what informed my decision to initiate the suit before the Federal High Court.

Read also: Lawyer raises fresh alarm over Kanu’s health, demands release

“To be sure, the extraordinary rendition of Nnamdi Kanu triggered myriad legal questions that cut across multiple jurisdictions in Nigeria and even triggered the international legal order, to boot.

“In other words, the rendition has expanded the matter of Kanu far beyond the realms of the Abuja trial and opened up new legal frontiers that must be ventilated to the hilt before other courts and tribunals within and without Nigeria.

“Thus, this very case before the Federal High Court, Umuahia is one of such that is aimed at seeking a definitive judicial pronouncement on the constitutionality of the extraordinary rendition. The ones in the United Kingdom, Kenya, African Union and the United Nations are in addition.

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