The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has formally appealed to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to include his legal travails as a subject of discourse during its ongoing 2025 Annual General Conference in Enugu State.
Kanu made this request in a letter dated August 18, 2025, and received at the NBA’s National Secretariat on August 22.
The letter, titled “Re: Miscarriages of Justice in the Case of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,” was personally signed by him and later shared with journalists in Abuja.
In his appeal, Kanu described the NBA as a guardian of the legal profession and defender of the rule of law, arguing that the association “cannot continue to turn its face the other way.”
“Sir, my name is Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), an organisation which is a lawful human right organisation registered in over 18 countries of the world with peacefully agitation for my right to self determination of Biafra Republic which is a fundamental human right of association guaranteed both in local and international laws and human rights,” he wrote.
“May I inform you that this is not merely a letter of a persecuted man; it is a bill of indictment against a segment of the Nigerian judiciary that has, in my case, converted courts of law into arenas of impunity,” Kanu continued, describing the proceedings against him as a form of “judicial lynching as against constitutional order.”
Kanu implored the NBA to examine his case as part of its conference deliberations, lamenting the disregard for due process in his legal experience.
“Audi alteram partem—the sacred maxim of fair hearing has been shattered beyond recognition,” he stated.
He further cited several legal frameworks he believes have been violated in his matter, including: “Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) 1999 (as amended), Sections 169 and 293 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, and binding international instruments like the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Article 7) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 14).”
Kanu claimed that multiple legal and human rights authorities have ruled in his favour or recognized the injustices done to him.
These include the Nigerian Court of Appeal, the Federal High Court, the Kenyan High Court, the UN Special Rapportes sssand the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
“This letter sets out, in painstaking details, the catalogue of infractions that now stand as an unerasable blot on Nigeria’s legal conscience, supported by judicial authority,” he said.
“It is further compounded by the fact that multiple authoritative bodies, including the Supreme Court itself, Court of Appeal of Nigeria (which discharged me), the Federal High Court (which declared my extraordinary rendition illegal), the Kenyan High Court, UN Special Rapporteur opinions, and the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD), have confirmed that I was abducted, tortured, and extraordinarily renditioned from Kenya in violation of domestic and international law.”
He listed specific infractions allegedly committed by three judges in his case and called on the NBA to investigate these claims, issue a report, and take a firm stance against the misuse of civil procedures in criminal matters and the unlawful application of repealed statutes.
“Affirm that no Nigerian should ever again be detained by abduction or tried under a repealed law. Hold errant judges accountable, restoring public confidence in the Bar and Bench,” he urged.
Kanu concluded his letter by highlighting the broader implications of his case:
“This case is not only about me. It is about whether Nigeria’s judiciary is bound by law or by impunity. The constitution, statutes, and international treaties have all been shredded. The Bar cannot be silent.”
He emphasized the importance of the NBA’s voice in such matters: “I hereby call on Nigerian Bar Association to discuss these judicial misconducts as one of your topic of discussions in the ongoing 2025 NBA annual conference going on in Enugu State.”
“Qui tacet consentire videtur, he who is silent is taken to agree. Silence now would make the NBA complicit in the erosion of Nigeria’s legal foundations. Thank you and God bless the NBA,” Kanu concluded.
