The Okwu Kanu family has issued a statement dated 18 October 2026 urging the British government to fulfil its responsibilities towards its citizen, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. The family states that Kanu, a British citizen born a Biafran, has spent a cumulative eight years in Nigerian detention following his rendition from Kenya. He was convicted under a statute that Nigeria had already repealed and remains in custody while his appeal sits unlisted and unheard. Although Britain has engaged diplomatically, the family says it has secured neither his freedom, a hearing of his appeal, nor any meaningful remedy.
The statement places the present situation in a longer historical context. During the conflict between Biafra and Nigeria, the Wilson government publicly spoke of peace while freely supplying arms and ammunition to the Federal Military Government. A United States intelligence estimate dated 12 August 1969 confirmed this position and noted Britain’s reluctance to support an arms embargo because of concerns over its influence. In the House of Commons on 17 November 1969, Hugh Fraser stated that up to 60 per cent of Nigeria’s battle weapons came from Britain. The family regards this historical hostility as reflected in Britain’s present inaction.
The family identifies five unprecedented violations in the handling of Kanu’s case. First, he was convicted under repealed legislation without any identification of an applicable extant provision of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 that defines the offences and prescribes the penalties, contrary to section 36(12) of the Nigerian Constitution. Second, the Court of Appeal discharged him and quashed the counts against him in October 2022, yet he remained in custody. Third, he was held for approximately 14 months after that discharge without a valid subsisting charge. Fourth, a civil stay of execution, obtained 14 days after the discharge, was used to suspend the effect of a criminal appellate decision. Fifth, he was subsequently prosecuted and convicted in November 2025 on counts that the Court of Appeal had already quashed, under legislation that the family maintains was repealed.
The family also draws attention to recent judicial concerns. Retired Supreme Court Justice Amina Augie warned on 17 October 2026 that corruption can turn the courts into “one more market stall.” A life sentence resting on repealed law without an identified extant written provision, the family argues, raises a fundamental question about the validity of the conviction and the integrity of the process that produced it. The statement concludes that Britain has a continuing duty to its own citizen and must secure a proper hearing and an effective remedy.
By A.Ikechukwu
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