The High Court of Kenya has delivered a landmark judgment, declaring the June 2021 abduction and subsequent forced transfer of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), from Kenya to Nigeria as unlawful and unconstitutional. In a ruling issued on June 24, 2025, Justice E.C. Mwita strongly condemned both the Kenyan and Nigerian governments for egregious violations of Kanu's fundamental human rights. The court awarded Kanu KSh10 million in compensatory damages for the injustices he endured.

Justice Mwita’s judgment explicitly stated that the government of Kenya had violated its own Constitution and Mr. Nnamdi Kanu’s rights and fundamental freedoms. The court affirmed that having entered Kenya lawfully, Kanu was entitled to the protections enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya 2010. However, instead of protection, he was subjected to abduction, solitary confinement, torture, and was forcibly removed from Kenya without adherence to legal procedures. The ruling further clarified that Kanu's abduction, incommunicado detention, and the denial of essential provisions like food, water, and medication constituted flagrant breaches of his constitutional rights. His forcible transfer to Nigeria was also deemed a violation of both Kenyan laws and established international legal standards.

Reacting to the ruling, IPOB, through its spokesperson Emma Powerful, released a statement on Friday, hailing the judgment as a 'resounding judicial earthquake.' The group asserted that the verdict unequivocally vindicates their long-held stance regarding Kanu's illegal rendition. IPOB vehemently accused the Nigerian and Kenyan governments of orchestrating a 'criminal act of state-sponsored international terrorism' and pledged to pursue global accountability for all individuals involved in the operation. The group emphasized that Kanu's transfer was not a legitimate extradition, but rather an 'extraordinary rendition' facilitated by collusion between Nigerian and Kenyan security agencies.

The IPOB statement detailed the nature of the abduction, asserting that Kanu was seized in broad daylight at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, subsequently chained, tortured, and illegally flown to Abuja without any form of extradition hearing or judicial warrant. The group expressed profound gratitude to Professor PLO Lumumba, who served as lead counsel in the Kenyan litigation, and to Justice Mwita, commending their “courage, clarity, and tenacity” in delivering the impactful judgment. IPOB declared that this verdict places a “permanent legal stain” on the records of former presidents Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, as well as their alleged accomplices.

Looking forward, IPOB warned that this judgment signifies the commencement of a broader global campaign aimed at holding all perpetrators accountable. The group affirmed its determination to pursue all those responsible, whether in Kenya, Nigeria, or elsewhere, “to the ends of the earth under the universal principle of accountability for crimes against humanity.”