The brother of a British man held in Nigeria after being the victim of an extraordinary drama has accused the British government of turning its back on him and called on Keir Starmer to “wake up” and “protect the British people”.
Kingsley Kanu, the younger brother of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipobu), a prominent banned separatist movement in Nigeria, said the British government had failed to intervene in his brother’s case.
“To date, neither the previous nor the current government has been able to ask the Nigerian government to accept its position and stop it,” Kingsley said in an interview from Germany. “They need to wake up to protect the British people. I think that’s quite remarkable.”
Nnamdi, a dual citizen and father of two, had been wanted by Nigerian authorities since 2015 after he set up a digital radio station, Radio Biafra, from his London home at the time of Nigeria’s first large-scale separatist protests since the country’s civil war.
He fled on bail in 2017 after Nigerian security forces raided his residence in Nigeria in an operation dubbed “Python Dance,” according to court documents. At least 28 members of Ipobu were killed.
Nnamdi’s family, lawyers, the United Nations and a Nigerian court said in 2021 that Nnamdi was arrested by Nigerian authorities in Kenya and taken to Nigeria in an unusual act of illegal transfer between countries. He has since pleaded not guilty to 15 criminal charges related to terrorism and treason, seven of which remain pending.
The British government faced a legal challenge from Kingsley Kanu over its handling of the case, which was ultimately dismissed. However, the judge cited a Nigerian court and found that Mr Nnamdi was subject to an unusual sentence, despite the refusal of many former foreign ministers to take such a view.
In 2023, a UK Court of Appeal judgment said the government’s position “could probably be different” if the Nigerian Supreme Court upheld the Nigerian Court of Appeal’s decision that a special sentence had been handed down against Nnamdi.
Despite the decision by Nigeria’s Supreme Court, Mr Kingsley said the government had turned its back on his brother. He said the December 2023 Nigerian Supreme Court judgment provided a clear path for the UK government to take action. But Mr Kingsley has yet to hear from Starmer, the fourth prime minister during his brother’s detention.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said: “We are providing consular support to Mr Kanu and remain in contact with his family and legal representatives. We have raised his case with the Nigerian authorities.”
Nnamdi visits the consulate every month and can be contacted through his lawyer and brother, his brother said. Nnamdi’s family and lawyers had previously raised concerns about Nnamdi’s treatment, as he was kept mostly in solitary confinement in poor conditions and without access to medical treatment for his heart condition.
“The High Court and Nigeria have had discussions,” Kingsley said. “We have to take that and do it.”
The Nigerian embassy has been contacted for comment.
