Organization For Biafran Freedom - OFBF

What else can one conclude other than that Government is Complicit in the unchecked Crime of the herders?

JUST IN: Armed Herdsmen Sack Benue State Community, Kill Scores Of Residents, Four Soldiers, Burn Houses | Sahara Reporters Armed Fulani herdsmen have attacked yet another Benue State community, killing scores of residents including four Nigerian soldiers and burning down villages. SaharaReporters reliably gathered on Monday that the attack took place on Sunday at Iyer village in Uvir Council Ward in Guma local governmen...

Victory Round 1 for MNK:

Nnamdi Kanu: Nigerian court drops charges against separatist Ipob leader:

Nigeria's Appeal Court has dropped all charges against separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu after ruling that he had been illegally arrested abroad.
The court also ruled that his extradition had been illegal.
The ruling by a panel of three judges is seen as a major blow to the government which had detained Mr Kanu on various treason and terrorism-related charges.
He leads the banned indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) group.
Ipob is campaigning for the creation of an independent state in south-eastern Nigeria.

Mr Kanu - who holds a UK passport - fled Nigeria in 2017 before he was seized and brought back in 2021.

His 2021 arrest abroad was illegal because extradition protocol was not followed, the court said.
Kenya has not commented on whether it played a role in Mr Kanu's deportation to Nigeria.
The Appeal Court also ruled the Federal High Court did not have the jurisdiction to try Mr Kanu.
He initially faced 15 charges, but eight had previously been dropped.
He was originally arrested in 2015 but he fled Nigeria in 2017 while out on bail. He had previously denied any wrongdoing.
Ipob wants a group of states in the south-east of the country, largely inhabited by members of the Igbo ethnic group, to break away from Nigeria and form an independent nation called Biafra.

In 1967 Igbo leaders declared independence for the state of Biafra, but after a civil war, which led to the deaths of up to a million people, the secessionist rebellion was defeated.
But the idea of Biafra has never gone away and despite the arrests of his members, Mr Kanu's movement has seen a recent swell in its numbers.

Source: BBC News.

Release Nnamdi Kanu unconditionally — UN tells Nigeria •Condemns alleged torture, indicts officials:

The United Nations, UN Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, has indicted both Nigeria and Kenya Governments for the arrest and extraordinary rendition, torture and continued detention of the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, without due process.

UN therefore, asked Nigerian Government to, “immediate release Kanu unconditionally” and pay him adequate compensations for the arbitrary violation of his fundamental human rights.

It also recommended that Government officials responsible for the torture meted to the IPOB Leader be investigated and punished.

The UN body further directed Nigeria to report back within six months of the transmission of its opinions on Kanu’s matter, steps taken to comply with all the recommendations thereof.

It referred the case of Kanu’s torture to Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment for further consideration

The UN Working Group also threatened to take further action to ensure the recommendations are complied with, noting that both Nigeria and Kenya are signatories to the Convention and should comply.

The 16-page report dated July 20, 2022 was adopted on April 4 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention at its 93rd session, held between March 30 – April 8, 2022.

The unedited version of the document sighted by Vanguard, was marked:”Opinion No. 25/2022 concerning Mr. Nwannekaenyi Nnamdi Kenny Okwu-Kanu (Nigeria and Kenya).

According to the report, Nigeria replied to the communication on 25 January 2022 while the Government of Kenya did not reply. Both countries are parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

“Noting the failure of the Government to explain what actions of Mr. Kanu amounted to such criminal acts and how, and observing the lack of any evidence that any of his actions may in fact amount to such crimes, the Working Group concludes that Mr. Kanu is in fact being persecuted for the peaceful exercise of his rights, most notably his freedom of opinion and expression.

“In the present case, the Government of Nigeria has presented no exceptions permitted under article 19 (3) of the Covenant nor is there any evidence to suggest that Mr. Kanu’s exercise of his right to freedom of opinion and expression was anything but peaceful.

”In fact, the Government has chosen not to provide any explanation for the arrest, detention and subsequent proceedings against Mr. Kanu. In these circumstances, the Working Group concludes that Mr. Kanu’s detention is thus arbitrary under category II”, UN Working Group said.

The Working Group also said there was no evidence that International laws were observed in the arrest and rendition of Kanu from Kenya.

The 16-page dossier read in part: “In the present case, Mr. Kanu was not furnished with an arrest warrant by Nigerian authorities nor was he promptly informed of the grounds for his arrest in Nigeria.

Consequently, the Working Group finds that Mr. Kanu’s continued deprivation of liberty violates his rights under articles 3 and 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 9 of the Covenant, and principles 2, 4, and 10 of the Body of Principles and constitutes arbitrary detention under category I.”

“Furthermore, in order to establish that a detention is indeed legal, anyone detained has the right to challenge the legality of his or her detention before a court, as guaranteed by article 9 (4) of the Covenant. The Working Group wishes to recall that according to the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on Remedies and Procedures on the Rights of Anyone Deprived of their Liberty to Bring Proceedings before a Court, the right to challenge the lawfulness of detention before a court is a self-standing human right, which is essential to preserve legality in a democratic society.