June 01, (THEWILL) – Bruce Fein, the United States-based lawyer of embattled leader of Igbo separatist group, Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has written a letter to the apex Igbo socio-cultural body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, accusing the group of not doing enough for the IPOB leader.
The letter dated May 31, 2022 and addressed to the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, George Obiozor, said the group should not be comfortable with sitting on the fence, while watching the Nigerian government do everything to “imprison Kanu indefinitely without trial.”
In the letter which also copied Kanu’s Special Counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, noted that he was aware of alleged plans by the Federal Government to imprison Nnamdi Kanu indefinitely without a trial or to expedite his death.
Fein, an American human rights lawyer, operating under Bruce Fein Law Firms, Washington DC, exposed alleged plans by the Federal Government to imprison Nnamdi Kanu indefinitely without a trial praying for either for his death.
Part of the letter reads: “For nearly a year, Nnamdi Kanu has been punished by indefinite detention in solitary confinement and denied access to needed nutrition, medical care, and counsel of choice in violation of international human rights law and the Nigerian Constitution. (The Fulani government notoriously honours the Constitution in the breach rather than in the observance). Nnamdi Kanu has also been denied his rights to a public, prompt, and fair trial before an impartial judge.
“The Fulani have amended the charges against Nnamdi Kanu three times. They remain infinitely vague. They trespass on the universally recognised international law right of every people to self-determination exalted in Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 3 of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 61/295, Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007). Notwithstanding, armies of lawyers and investigators, the Fulani remain unprepared for trial after the elapse of more than 11 months since Nnamdi Kanu’s detention in Abuja. There still is no trial date.
“A bail hearing had been set by Justice Binta Nyako for May 26. Bail has been denied on the preposterous theory that Nnamdi Kanu previously jumped bail in September 2017, when he barely escaped an assassination attempt by exercising his unalienable right to self-preservation, when Nigerian security forces riddled his residence with bullets, murdering many others. An Abia High Court has awarded Nnamdi Kanu N5 billion for that flagrant and notorious violation of fundamental rights.
“The day before the bail hearing, Justice Nyako announced through the court Registrar that she had become “indisposed” and had adjourned the case another month to June 28, 2022. Couldn’t the Justice concoct a better excuse, like affliction with Covid? “Indisposed” means a mild illness that passes in days. A more likely explanation is that Attorney General, Abubakar Malami, acting on the instructions of President Muhammadu Buhari, ordered Nyako to again postpone the proceedings because the prosecution has no case.
“Depend upon it. Without public denunciation of Nnamdi Kanu’s continued political persecution thundering like a hammer on an anvil, demanding his release and a dismissal of the manufactured charges with prejudice, the June 28 bail hearing will also be postponed ad infinitum. Nnamdi Kanu’s cruel punishment without trial will persist in notorious violation of the Nigerian Constitution and international law.
“You collectively, have a legal and moral duty to speak out publicly against this travesty of justice that daily inflicts great misery on the Biafran people. Do not become traitors to the noble cause. Risk a tiny fraction of what Nnamdi Kanu has risked to regain Biafran sovereignty. It was stolen by the British over a century ago and the Fulani have refused to restore it by resorting to genocide.
“Silence is not acceptable. Neutrality between the firefighter and the fire is not an option. You cannot escape the judgement of history. Show you are made of sterner stuff than quislings.”
“Nnamdi Kanu’s cruel punishment without trial will persist in notorious violation of the Nigerian Constitution and international law.
“Face up to your legal and moral responsibilities as professed Biafran leaders. Do not show your heels when danger appears.
“Nnamdi Kanu is one of you – born on the same soil, raised on the same food, buoyed by the same music and dances, and nurtured by the same culture, inspired by the same flag.
“It has become obvious beyond a reasonable doubt that the Fulani zealots have no incriminating evidence against him.
“They aim to imprison Nnamdi Kanu indefinitely without a trial, praying for either his death or handing his fraudulent prosecution to the next administration and wash their hand like Pontius Pilate.”
