Nnamdi Kanu’s Family Accuses British Government Of Complicity In His Continued Detention

The family of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has accused the British government of complicity in his illegal detention and trial in Nigeria.
IPOB also called on the UK Government to publicly accept responsibility for its role in the illegal rendition of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu just as they demanded immediately his return to either Kenya or the United Kingdom.
In a statement signed by Prince Emmanuel Kanu, the family spokesperson, on Sunday, they expressed their sorrow and frustration over Britain’s role in Kanu’s ordeal.
The family highlighted Britain’s historical pattern of betrayal, citing the 1967-1970 Biafran genocide, where British arms were supplied to Nigeria, resulting in the deaths of over 5million Biafrans.
“The United Kingdom has never stopped killing Biafrans. Only the methods have changed,” the statement read.
He said that “In 2021, they supplied the silence that allowed their citizen to be kidnapped and tortured. What exactly did the Igbo people do to Britain to deserve this generational hatred?
“Is it our resilience, our enterprise, or our refusal to bow to colonial structures masquerading as post-colonial governments? Why is it that every time an Igbo leader rises to speak truth to power, Britain rushes to undermine him?
” Britain’s hatred for the Igbo people has outlived colonialism. What they could not achieve with bombs and starvation in 1967, they now pursue through legal manipulation, judicial collusion, and geopolitical deceit,” the family recalled.
The family questioned why the British High Commission in Nairobi was inactive during Kanu’s abduction and why the UK Foreign Office turned a blind eye to this violation of international human rights and consular law.
The family also criticised the UK government’s diplomatic deceit, saying they pretended to be engaged while Kanu was in detention.
“British Consular officials visited Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in DSS custody in Abuja. He asked one simple question: ‘Why is the United Kingdom allowing a British citizen to be tried for broadcasts made in the UK, where both IPOB and Radio Biafra are lawful entities?’ The response was both evasive and insidious: ‘We’ll get back to you.’ But they never did,” the statement read.
The family demanded that UK should publicly accept responsibility for complicity in the illegal rendition of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The family added, “Instead, within four days of that meeting, Nigeria’s then-Attorney General Abubakar Malami quietly amended the charges against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, removing ‘London, United Kingdom’ as the alleged location of the offences. The only logical inference is that the British authorities either advised Nigeria to do this or consented to a cover-up to evade the UK’s own jurisdictional responsibilities.
“Despite IPOB’s legal status in the UK and the total absence of any UK court order outlawing its activities, the British Government has continually refused to challenge the unlawful prosecution of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in Nigeria. Why? Because they know what every international legal scholar knows: that the alleged offences occurred outside Nigerian territory; that the primary jurisdiction lies in the UK, not Nigeria;
That the rendition violated the UK’s own Extradition Act, the Commonwealth Mutual Assistance Treaty, and all norms of international law.
“Yet, when the question was asked of the British Foreign Office—Why won’t you demand that your own citizen be returned to either the UK or Kenya, where he was abducted?—they offered the most cowardly response imaginable: “We cannot interfere in a Nigerian trial.”
“This is not just false. It is a betrayal. The UK Government has, in fact, interfered constantly—by suppressing evidence, shielding Nigerian impunity, and erasing its own culpability from the chain of events that led to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s ongoing ordeal.”
“This statement is not made in anger. It is made in defiance. We defy the centuries of British deception in Africa. We defy the silence that enables crimes against our people. And we defy the notion that a British citizen can be abducted, tortured, and tried abroad without the UK lifting a finger.
If Britain cannot protect its own citizen, then it should admit publicly that some British citizens are more equal than others. Let the world judge.
“OUR DEMAND TO THE UK GOVERNMENT; publicly accept responsibility for your complicity in the illegal rendition of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu; immediately demand his return to either Kenya or the United Kingdom; cease all diplomatic and legal support that sustains this illegal trial in Nigeria; initiate a parliamentary inquiry into the roles played by the British High Commissions in Nairobi and Abuja in this scandal: tell the truth: Why is Britain so obsessed with silencing Biafra?
“If anything happens to our brother, the Kanu Family will hold the United Kingdom responsible. Not because they failed to act—but because they chose to act on the side of evil. Their silence is not neutrality. It is an endorsement of tyranny. Let the earth tremble with this truth. Let history record our warning. Let justice not be buried under diplomatic hypocrisy.”