British courtroom grants Nnamdi Kanu’s household permission to problem UK govt

A UK courtroom has granted permission to Nnamdi Kanu’s household to problem the UK authorities over its failure to intervene in Mr Kanu’s alleged extraordinary rendition from Kenya to Nigeria.

Aloy Ejimakor, Mr Kanu’s particular counsel, introduced this in a Twitter post on Friday.

The case was filed earlier than the Excessive Court docket of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division by Mr Kanu’s brother, Kingsley, in accordance with a screenshot of a courtroom doc posted by Mr Ejimakor.

It’s not clear when the permission was granted by the courtroom.

There are indications, nonetheless, that the listening to was held on Thursday.

PREMIUM TIMES reported in June that Mr Kanu’s household threatened to sue the British authorities over its “silence” on the alleged unlawful extraordinary rendition of Mr Kanu to Nigeria.

The household accused the then UK Secretary of State for International, Commonwealth and Improvement Affairs, Liz Truss, now British Prime Minister, of ignoring “overwhelming proof” that Mr Kanu was terribly renditioned to Nigeria by the Nigerian authorities.

Mr Kanu, the chief of the outlawed Indigenous Folks of Biafra (IPOB), is a Nigerian-British citizen.

The IPOB chief, who was granted bail in April 2017, fled the nation after an invasion of his house in Afara-Ukwu, close to Umuahia, Abia State, by the Nigerian navy in September of that yr.

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He was re-arrested in Kenya and introduced again to Nigeria in June 2021, about 4 years after. He’s being detained in Abuja the place he’s going through trial for terrorism.

Since his alleged extraordinary rendition to Nigeria, successive UK international secretaries – Dominic Raab after which Ms Truss – earlier than she turned prime minister – have refused to state if Mr Kanu was a sufferer of extraordinary rendition.

On this newest courtroom listening to, Mr Kingsley, the claimant, sought permission for a judicial evaluate of the UK authorities’s “silence” on Mr Kanu’s alleged detention and trial in Nigeria.

“The appliance for permission to use for judicial evaluate is granted,” the decide, Justice Ellenbogen, held.

“The appliance is to be listed for someday, at an in-person listening to on the Royal Courts of Justice. The events are to supply a written time estimate inside 7 days of service of this order in the event that they disagree with this path.”

James Cleverly, the brand new UK Secretary of State for International, Commonwealth and Improvement Affairs, is the defendant within the case.

Shirin Marker, from the Bindmans LLP, who’s representing Mr Kingsley, stated it was important for Mr Cleverly to achieve a “agency conclusion” on whether or not her consumer’s brother had been the sufferer of extraordinary rendition with a purpose to determine what steps to take to help him, in accordance a report by The Guardian UK.

“The proof out there up to now establishes that he (Mr Kanu) has been topic to extraordinary rendition and torture or inhumane therapy,” she stated.

“It’s unacceptable for the UK authorities to proceed to prevaricate on this situation. We’re glad that the courtroom has now granted permission for this case to maneuver to a last listening to,” Ms Marker acknowledged.

The decide defined her resolution to grant the judicial evaluate listening to.

“Such choices/inaction are, in precept, reviewable and don’t enter forbidden areas, together with choices affecting international coverage,” she stated.