Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the imprisoned leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group that is now officially outlawed, has lost an appeal he filed against the British government for his arrest in Nigeria.
The IPOB leader, who is a dual-citizen of the United Kingdom and Nigeria, appealed to the British government for assistance in his fight against the Nigerian government in London last year.
Kanu, who was captured in Kenya in June 2021, has been held at a Department of State Service (DSS) facility since his extradition, and he has launched a lawsuit asking the UK to become involved in the situation.
Kanu also sued the Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), who served as the UK government’s ambassador to London in the legal proceeding.
However, the court dismissed the appeal in a verdict on Wednesday, saying that it had no authority to influence the UK government’s choice about the imprisonment and circumstances of the IPOB leader in Nigeria.
While the Nigerian government’s case against Kanu was still pending before Nigeria’s Supreme Court, the three-member panel claimed it could not compel the Foreign Secretary to adopt a hard stance on the issue.