The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has strongly condemned what it described as the unjust incarceration of pro-Biafra agitator Nnamdi Kanu, declaring him a prisoner of conscience and demanding his immediate release through the exercise of the presidential prerogative of mercy under Nigeria’s constitution.

In a strongly worded statement issued in Abuja, the civil rights advocacy group said the continued detention and life imprisonment of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) represents one of the gravest miscarriages of justice in Nigeria’s contemporary legal history.

HURIWA recalled that on October 13, 2022, the Court of Appeal of Nigeria quashed all the remaining charges against Kanu and ordered his immediate release after ruling that the Nigerian government violated both domestic and international law in the manner he was forcefully returned to Nigeria from Kenya in 2021. The appellate court held that the extraordinary rendition breached due process and therefore invalidated the prosecution against him.

The rights group noted that rather than comply with the appellate court’s ruling, the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Nigeria, which subsequently overturned the earlier ruling and ordered that the trial resume at the Federal High Court.

According to HURIWA, the decision of the federal government to challenge a judgment that had already ordered Kanu’s release demonstrated what it described as “deep-seated hostility and discriminatory animus against the Igbo people.”

The group stated that the trial that followed under Justice James Omotosho was marred by what it called “palpable hostility and predetermined conclusions,” arguing that the court relied heavily on interpretations of Kanu’s broadcasts while failing to establish direct evidence linking him to any specific acts of violence or killings.

The organisation said agitation for self-determination cannot automatically be equated with terrorism, stressing that international human rights norms recognise the right of peoples to advocate peacefully for political autonomy.

HURIWA further compared Kanu’s imprisonment with the historical detention of the late Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, arguing that Nigeria has a troubling tradition of jailing vocal critics of the state.

“History is repeating itself,” the group stated. “Just as the Nigerian state once targeted Fela Anikulapo-Kuti for his radical dissent, today it is targeting Nnamdi Kanu for his political beliefs and advocacy for self-determination.”

The rights body also raised questions about what it called unequal treatment in dealing with separatist agitation across Nigeria.

HURIWA noted that Yoruba nation agitator Sunday Igboho, who similarly campaigned for secession in southwestern Nigeria, had benefited from political negotiations and interventions, asking whether the continued incarceration of Kanu reflects ethnic bias.

“Justice must not be selective,” the group said. “The continued imprisonment of Nnamdi Kanu raises serious concerns about whether the Nigerian state is applying the law equally to all citizens regardless of ethnicity.”

The advocacy organisation therefore called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to invoke the constitutional prerogative of mercy to secure Kanu’s immediate release in the interest of national reconciliation, peace and justice.

HURIWA argued that freeing Kanu would help de-escalate tensions in the South-East and open the door for constructive dialogue on the political grievances that have fueled agitation in the region.

“The continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu serves no constructive national purpose,” the statement concluded. “He should be released immediately as a prisoner of conscience and allowed to pursue his political beliefs peacefully within the bounds of democratic engagement.”

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