The United Nations has raised concerns over the alleged torture and ill-treatment of the embattled leader of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
WuzupNigeria reported that Kanu, who was extradited from Kenya to Nigeria on June 27, again appeared before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday.
However, his trial was adjourned until November 10 after Kanu pleaded not guilty to amended charges of treasonable felony and terrorism levelled against him by the Federal Government.
Recall that Kanu has remained in the custody of the Department of State Services after he was repatriated from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya to Abuja in a private jet.
The UN, in a document, recently released, disclosed that it received intelligence on allegations of enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment of Nnamdi Kanu by Kenyan Security Officials.
As contained in the document, the UN has demanded details of Kanu’s current state of health as well as details surrounding his disappearance, arrest and extradition to Nigeria.
The UN statement partly read: “While we do not prejudge the accuracy of these allegations, we would like to express our concern in relation to the enforced disappearance of Nnamdi Kanu from June 19, 2021, until his reappearance at Nigerian Federal High Court in Abuja on June 29, 2021, and his reported illegal rendition from Nairobi to Abuja without judicial process.”
The UN also stressed that it found the alleged torture and ill-treatment of Kanu alarming, warning that it constitutes a violation of fundamental human rights.
“We are further alarmed by the alleged torture and ill-treatment Mr Kanu has been subjected to during his detention by the DSS in Nigeria. If confirmed, these allegations would constitute prima facie violations of fundamental human rights, including the right not to be arbitrarily deprived of liberty and the absolute and non-derogable prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment under the International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights.”
“The Committee against Torture and the UN Human Rights Committee has repeatedly concluded that enforced disappearances may amount to torture and other forms of ill-treatment both with regard to the disappeared and with regard to their family members, due to the anguish and uncertainty concerning the date and whereabouts of loved ones.
“As it is our responsibility under the mandates provided to us by the Human Rights Council to seek to clarify all cases brought to our attention, we would be grateful for your observations on the following matters: any additional information and any comment you may have on the above-mentioned allegations.
“Please provide detailed information on the current state of health of Mr Kanu and the measures undertaken, or foreseen, to prevent any irreparable damage to his life and personal integrity and to ensure that he has access to the medications and medical treatment required by his health conditions.
“Please provide detailed information on the circumstances in which Mr Kanu was arrested, forcibly disappeared before being handed over to Nigerian authorities and transferred from Nairobi to Abuja. Also provide any international arrest warrant that may have been issued against him, prior to his arrest.”
