@AbdulMahmud01Lawyer, Reno Omokri and David Hundeyin have raised issues surrounding the supposed extradition of seperatist leader, Nnamdi Kanu from the United Kingdom in Europe.
The contention here is that there is high certainty that IPOB’s Kanu was not intercepted in the UK but from likely another country say Africa or other parts of Europe.
@AbdulMahmud01Lawyer in his ‘In Nnamdi Kanu: A Preliminary Tweet-thread’ has opined that given the extradition law in the UK, it would not have been that possible for a country like Nigeria to speedily extradit Kanu. Again, Omokri has informed that ‘I just spoke with a top UK government source. Nnamdi Kanu was NOT arrested or extradited by the British. According to this official, Kanu was “almost definitely arrested in KENYA” and “it was an illegal detention”. I won’t reveal my source, but I have him on record’, through a tweet.
See the extended position of @AbdulMahmud01Lawyer ‘AGF’s press conference on Kanu’s arrest raises more questions than answers. A few folks are pointing fingers at the UK government. For those who know how cumbersome extradition procedures are, something outside law happened. I’ll try and break it down here.
‘If MNK was actually extradited from the UK, he must have undergone the fastest extradition process in the UK. Bear in mind the processes which involved Augusto Pinochet and presently Julian Assange.
‘Extradition is driven by the cooperative law: UK Extradition Act, 2003 and the bilateral mutual assistance treaty on extradition ( Nigeria and UK). Because extradition law is a cooperative law, a country must make request for the extradition of someone and the other country to which request is made is obliged by law to act.
‘If an extradition request for MNK was made by Nigeria to the UK Home Secretary, the procedures guaranteed for countries under “category b” of the UK Act has to be followed.
Here’s a summary:1) On receipt of request, the Home Secretary makes a decision on arrestand passes that decision to the District or High Court, which must issue the warrant of arrest of the fugitive. The Home Secretary cannot order arrest. The procedure for issue of warrant allows for legal representation for the fugitive. The court can decline to issue warrant2. Once the court declines or grants warrant, the Home Secretary turns the request for extradition to the High Court. Then, the extradition proceedings begin.Where the court finds that there is legal basis for extradition, it turns its decision to the Home Secretary.
‘Who makes an order for the extradition of the fugitive. The fugitive then has 14 or 21 days ( I’m not certain now as I’m typing from my head- will ascertain later) to appeal the order before the High Court. If successful, order of Home Secretary will be quashed.
‘Where it fails, fugitive’s right of appeal as far as the UK Supreme Court. It is a long and winding justice for the fugitive and the requesting state party. For clarity, read: R v Bow St Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate (2000).
‘This authority has a set of 3 constitutional law decisions of the House of Lords on extradition.That said, and with all of this in mind, is it probable that MNK was ever arrested in the UK and made to go through the UK extradition process?
‘The legal bar of death penalty in the UK Extradition Act makes it difficult for a requesting state party like Nigeria to successfully secure extradition for offences with the death penalty.
‘Therefore, my sense is that MNK was either snatched outside the UK (perhaps in a neighbouring African country like Cameroon that Nigeria recently allowed to snatch dissidents in Abuja) or MNK returned for his trial, based on a deal with the government.
‘Though, my concluding assertion may be speculative; but anything is possible in Nigeria. After all, the circumstances of MNK’s escape a few years still raise questions than answers. (@AbdulMahmud01Lawyer is an Author, Caution: Demolition Work in Progress- Greedy Elites & The Ruin Nation & The Past is Another Country (Memoir) -Forthcoming).
David Hundeyin (@DavidHundeyin) opined that ‘I have to be careful about how I word this, but assuming Nnamdi Kanu was indeed extradited or arrested with international help, I want to know under what legal framework this happened.
‘I get that he’s persona non grata in Nigeria, but who gave him up and why?
‘He’s a UK citizen, which also makes him a NATO citizen. Since when do people holding such powerful passports get given up to countries like Nigeria when they are not credibly linked to something that can be legally considered a *crime*?
‘This doesn’t smell right.
‘Because if such countries are now giving people up to the Nigerian government simply because the Nigerian government *accused* them of xyz without credible evidence, then what does that mean for people living under asylum protection like me?
‘Are we next?’
So, was Kanu actually extradited from Britain?
