The American Military Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID) has written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian Government, urging for the release of Nnamdi Kanu.
In the letter, AVID asked that Kanu should either be released on bail or unconditionally.
The group said its request was predicated on the fact that on 26th October 2022, the Federal High Court of Nigeria had pronounced as illegal Kanu’s extraordinary rendition from Kenya to Nigeria.
This, they said, amounted to a brazen violation of Kanu’s fundamental right to dignity of his person and threat to life under Section 34(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
“The decisions of the Federal High Court, a High Court and of all other courts established by this Constitution shall be enforced in any part of the Federation by all authorities and persons, and by other courts of law with subordinate jurisdiction to that of the Federal High Court, a High Court and those other courts, respectively,” AVID quoted the court as saying.
AVID said the Government of Nigeria does not need any further judicial process or court order to implement this decision of the Federal High Court.
Again, the group recalled that in December 2023, the Supreme Court of Nigeria (despite its remission of Kanu’s case to Nigeria’s Federal High Court for trial) decided against his initial detention, saying, “The respondent (Mr. Kanu) was on bail and therefore in custody of the law when his home was illegally invaded by heavily armed military officers of the appellant (Federal Republic of Nigeria) causing him to flee from his home and the country to secure his life.”
The group said in the face of this, Kanu’s only option was to leave the country; the way he did does not amount to jumping bail.