The American Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID) have called on the United Kingdom to take immediate diplomatic action for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who has remained in detention in Nigeria for over four years.
During a world press conference in Abuja on Friday, AVID President, Dr. Sylvester Onyia, sharply criticised the UK government’s silence on the matter, despite Kanu’s status as a British citizen.
Onyia described Kanu’s 2021 abduction from Kenya and subsequent rendition to Nigeria as a violation of international law and human rights conventions.
“This was not an arrest; it was a kidnapping that breached Kenya’s sovereignty and violated the UN Convention Against Torture,” Onyia said.
He further accused Britain of complicit silence, referencing several international legal frameworks including the UN Charter, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and rulings such as Belhaj v. Straw (2017) that classify rendition as illegal under international law.
Kanu was seized in Nairobi on June 27, 2021, and brought to Nigeria where he has since faced legal proceedings. Onyia insists the UK’s inaction over the years reflects a deeper, historical bias.
“Britain’s silence is not golden, it is crimson with complicity. It continues the same policy it upheld during the Biafran War: silence in the face of Igbo suffering.”
He also referenced the 2022 ruling by Nigeria’s Court of Appeal which discharged Kanu, a decision some officials have downplayed, falsely interpreting it as non-acquittal.
“Discharge is not acquittal? That’s a lie. The Court of Appeal discharged him, yet the UK stood back. Governments that claim to uphold the rule of law should act like it,” he said.
AVID challenged Britain’s justification that Kanu’s dual nationality limits its role.
Onyia dismissed this argument, stating that international law obligates the UK to protect its citizens, regardless of dual nationality.
“If Britain claims he is also Nigerian, international law still requires action. The UK has no legal basis to sit idle while its citizen is held under repealed laws.”
Onyia also raised concerns about Kanu’s health, invoking Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and precedent from Dixon v. UK (2007).
“If Kanu dies in detention, the UK will not just be a bystander, it will be an accomplice. Under international law, Britain must intervene medically.”
AVID is calling on the British government to publicly condemn Kanu’s rendition, demand his immediate release, launch a parliamentary inquiry into the breaches of international law and consular protection under the Vienna Convention and end what it calls “diplomatic cover” for human rights violations.
Dr. Onyia concluded with a stern warning:
“A government that claims to defend human rights must begin with its own citizens. Silence is not neutrality; it is complicity. If Nnamdi Kanu dies, his blood will stain Britain’s hands. The world will remember.”
