By Abdul-Ganiyy Akanbi

A civil rights group, the Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy, has raised an alarm over alleged misuse of Magistrate and Area Courts by officials of Kebbi State Government to harass and intimidate political opponents in the state.

The group said that the misuse of the lower courts had become worrisome as over 20 innocent people considered to be political opponents have been clamped into jail through frivolous charges.

Addressing a press conference on the matter in Abuja on Monday, Barrister Kalu Kalu Agu, Head, Legal Services of the Centre, alleged in a petition that Government of Kebbi State is weaponizing security and judicial apparatus to oppress and intimidate dissenting voices.

At the joint media briefing with the African Democratic Congress Legal Support Forum, the group urged all courts within Kebbi State to uphold judicial independence and resist being used as political tools for the oppression of citizens.

Among those alleged to have been unjustly arrested and convicted on false narrations are Ibrahim Adamu Augie for publishing a video on health issues in Kebbi, Mukhtar Dan Baturiya for allegedly airing views considered by the state officials as anti- government.

Others said to have been arrested and made to suffer same fates are Ahmad Tijjani Musa and Ibrahim Bature who were said to have run into trouble with the state government men for exercising their fundamental right of commenting on public matters.

“These are just a few examples among many. Each represents a violation of constitutionally protected freedoms, a misuse of state power, and a betrayal of public trust.

“The pattern is consistent: citizens who voice dissatisfaction or raise awareness about public issues are targeted by the state machinery, prosecuted on frivolous charges, and punished in a manner designed to suppress broader dissent.

“The Centre and the Forum are also in possession of credible reports and firsthand testimonies of several other victims who have suffered prolonged detention, psychological trauma, social stigmatization, and economic loss as a result of these unlawful actions.

“Many have been coerced into silence through fear of further persecution, thereby creating a climate of fear and repression in Kebbi State. The cumulative effect is the erosion of civic space, the suppression of democratic freedoms, and the collapse of public trust in institutions meant to protect justice and liberty.

“These individuals are often summoned under dubious pretenses, arrested without warrant, denied access to legal representation, coerced to write statements and to admit charges, and held in custody beyond the constitutionally allowed duration” Agu stated.

He disclosed that in many instances, the charges brought against these persons are not only frivolous and baseless, but are concocted to suit a political narrative.

Offences such as “public nuisance,” “inciting public disturbance,” and “defamation” according to Agu, have been routinely and wrongfully invoked to criminalize speech and stifle freedom of expression.

The group claimed that the roles of Magistrates and Area courts in the repression has become concerning as the lower courts often lend legitimacy to abuses by entertaining meritless charges and issuing harsh sentences without proper legal scrutiny or regard for due process.

“The weaponization of the security and justice system to punish dissent is an abuse of power that threatens not only Kebbi State but the rule of law in Nigeria as a whole, Agu stated.

The group therefore demanded “an immediate investigation into the conduct of the Kebbi State Government, security agencies, and judicial officers involved in the repression and persecution of opposition voices.

Also, the Centre sought the identification and disciplinary action against officers of the Nigeria Police Force and DSS who have acted outside the scope of their authority in unlawfully arresting and detaining citizens.

Besides, the group requested the immediate release and compensation of all individuals currently in detention or those wrongfully convicted for exercising their constitutional rights to free speech and civic engagement.

The lawyer demanded the monitoring of human rights situation in Kebbi State by national and international organizations, with a view to halting the normalization of state-sponsored persecution.

By Abdul-Ganiyy Akanbi

The family of the detained Biafra nation agitator, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has accused the United Kingdom of aiding Nigeria in the rendition of Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria.

Specifically, the family took swipe at the British Government for continually refusing to challenge the prosecution of Kanu in Nigeria on the ground that there is no justification for such trial.

In a statement on Sunday by the family’s Spokesman, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, the family said that the action, especially silence of the United Kingdom in ordeal of Kanu was painful because the detainee is a British citizen.

Apparently angry with the development, the family challenged Britain to publicly accept responsibility for her complicity in the illegal rendition of Kanu.

The family also asked Britain to demand Kanu’s immediate return to either Kenya or the United Kingdom and to cease all diplomatic and legal support that sustains trial in Nigeria.

Besides, the family demands that the United kingdom should initiate a parliamentary inquiry into the roles played by the British High Commissions in Nairobi and Abuja in the rendition of Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria in 2021.

The statement read in part: “With hearts burdened by sorrow, we, the family of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, issue this solemn declaration to the world.

“We do so not only in defense of our beloved brother, father and uncle, but in defense of truth, justice, and the sacred memory of the over 5 million Biafrans slaughtered during Britain’s orchestrated genocide from 1967 to 1970.

“The United Kingdom has never stopped killing Biafrans. Only the methods have changed.

“Today, the same British Government that armed Nigeria to starve Biafran children to death now stands accused of a far more cowardly crime, the silent orchestration and diplomatic shielding of an illegal rendition, torture, and political show trial of a British citizen for exercising freedoms guaranteed under British law.

“Let the world take note: Were Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to die in the custody of the Nigerian government, it would be to the eternal shame and blood-drenched legacy of the United Kingdom.

“In June 2021, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, a lawful British citizen and leader of a peaceful self-determination movement, IPOB, registered under UK law, was abducted in Nairobi, Kenya, subjected to extraordinary rendition without due process, and illegally transferred to Nigeria by operatives whose trail the British authorities have deliberately ignored.

“This transnational crime was carried out in clear violation of Kenyan and international law. Yet Britain said nothing. Worse still, their silence gave Nigeria the license to act with impunity.

“Why was the British High Commission in Nairobi inactive while a British citizen was drugged, tortured, and flown out in chains?

“Why was the UK Foreign Office complicit in turning a blind eye to this abduction that violated every known treaty obligation under international human rights and consular law?

“The answer is now painfully clear: Britain was not merely a bystander. Britain was a co-conspirator.

“Following his illegal rendition, the UK Government pretended to be engaged. 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.

“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 location of the alleged 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.

“In 1968, they supplied the arms that killed Biafran children. 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?

“It is time for the world to know: 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.

“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.

“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”, the statement said.