The Federal Government has come under fire from the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) for keeping Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), in custody.
In his remarks to the media at a conference in Abuja, the executive director of the PLAC, Clement Nwankwo, stated that the Court of Appeal had ruled that the federal government had broken all national and international laws by bringing Kanu back to Nigeria from Kenya last year.
On October 13, the activist was released from the Court of Appeal in Abuja after the government had accused him of supporting terrorism.
Other accusations against the IPOB leader have also been made by the government.
Nwankwo expressed worry that the federal government had disregarded its obligations to uphold the principles of human rights as enshrined in the constitution
He said: “For instance, an October 13 ruling by the Court of Appeal specifically reprimanded the government for its role in abducting a wanted citizen from a foreign country without due process in order to bring him for trial.
“Such an illegal action by the government in the terrorism and treasonable felony trial of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, nullified the government’s case, making it ‘untriable’ in Nigeria, the court said in its landmark ruling.
“But the government has persisted in its ways by disregarding the court ruling and seeking an appeal at the same time. Both the federal and state governments have also demonstrated a lack of tolerance for criticism.
“They have often chosen to clamp down on critics by deploying regulatory powers, citing bogus laws and using security forces. Examples include the ban of Twitter and the numerous occasions where government officials, including the president’s wife, unlawfully arrest and detain critics and journalists.”