The British Labour MP for St Helens South and Whiston, Marie Rimmer, has called for “tougher action” by the British government against Nigeria to secure the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the separatist Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who was captured in yet to be revealed circumstances by Nigerian security agents.
Rimmer spoke late Tuesday afternoon during a British parliamentary debate on “British nationals detained overseas”. The MP, who has held her seat a few miles from Liverpool since 2015 said: Cases of British citizens being detained abroad are not limited to the middle east and Asia. In 2021, Mr Nnamdi Kanu, a British citizen, was abducted by Nigerian security forces in Nairobi, Kenya. Since his detention, he has been subjected to torture and many other unpleasantries. A United Nations Human Rights Council report released a damning assessment of the Nigerian Government’s treatment and called for his immediate release.
My right honourable and learned Friend the Member for Camberwell and Peckham (Harriet Harman) has worked tirelessly on behalf of Mr Kanu and is urging the Foreign Secretary to do more to secure his release. Nigeria is a Commonwealth nation that receives tens of millions in UK aid; it is one of the biggest beneficiaries. As part of that aid support, there must be a commitment to human rights and upholding the right to a fair trial. Mr Kanu must be given access to a fair and due process. A British citizen travelling on a British passport should not be kidnapped in a third country and dragged to a Nigerian prison. The Government need to get much tougher.
Kanu has been advocating the secession of southeastern Nigeria from the rest of the country and was reportedly abducted while visiting Kenya from Britain. His local MP Harriet Harman, who represents Camberwell and Peckham, has made several calls for his release. These have been ignored by the Nigerian authorities, alongside court orders.
