Jarvis Johnson, a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives, has urged the Supreme Court to uphold lower court rulings ordering the unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu, the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Johnson, who represents the 139th District, expressed this stance in a statement released on Tuesday, provided to Vanguard by Kanu’s Special Counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, ahead of Kanu’s December 15, 2023 case with the apex court in Abuja.
The statement aligns with previous calls from IPOB, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and Bruce Fein advocating for the freedom of the Self-Determination leader. Johnson argues that the extraordinary rendition of Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria violated both the country’s and international laws, justifying Kanu’s release.
The U.S. lawmaker stated, “On December 15, 2023, the Nigerian Supreme Court will decide whether or not to affirm the multiple unchallenged judgments orders from various legal jurisdictions which have called for the unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu (MNK). The consensus of legal opinion, within and outside Nigeria, expects the Supreme Court to affirm this plethora of judgments and orders.
“The undisputed facts are as follows: MNK was extraordinarily renditioned by the Government of Nigeria (GON) from Kenya on June 27, 2021. Then, and now, he is the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a non-violent group, advocating for an internationally supervised referendum to resolve the Biafran issue within the Nigeria polity. Recently, on October 30, 2023, the High Court of Enugu State held that the classification of IPOB as a terrorist group by the GON and the Southeast Governor’s Forum contravenes Section 42 of the Nigerian Constitution.
“It follows that the present and any future treatment of IPOB, its leadership, and its members as a terrorist group is illegal and, per se, discriminatory. Therefore, there is now no valid legal basis for the continued solitary confinement of MNK. Many other Nigerian Courts that had previously opined on the matter, including the High Court in Umuhia, Abia State, and the Court of Appeals in Abuja, had also reached similar conclusions and have ordered the immediate and unconditional release of MNK. There is no pending legal matter against MNK.
“On July 20, 2022, the United Nations Human Rights Council issued an opinion that found that MNK’s solitary confinement violated International Human Rights Conventions, to which Nigeria is a signatory, and called for his immediate and unconditional release.
“That MNK was Extraordinarily Renditioned is not in dispute, and that Extraordinary Rendition is illegal under Nigerian and International Law is also not in dispute. Therefore, I call on the Nigerian Supreme Court to uphold or affirm the considered judgments of its subordinate courts and the many International Tribunals by ordering the immediate and unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. This anticipated ruling will hasten restoring confidence in the Nigerian Judiciary, of which the Supreme Court is its apex court.”
