20th March, 2022 Abubakar Malami, SAN Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Federal Ministry of Justice Headquarters Shehu ...
20th March, 2022
Abubakar Malami, SAN
Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF)
Federal Ministry of Justice Headquarters
Shehu Shagari Way Central District
Maitama, Abuja FCT
RE: Mazi Nnamdi Kanu: Criminal Complaint of Torture and
Request for Investigation and Prosecution
Dear Sir:
We are Solicitors to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu (hereafter: our
Client), on whose behalf and Instruction we most respectfully bring this
Complaint pursuant to Section 1 (a) and (b), Section 5, Section 6 of the
Anti-Torture Act 2017; and Section 174 of the Constitution of Federal Republic
of Nigeria, 1999.
According to the information given to us by our Client, the
details of this Complaint are as follows:
1, Our Client entered the Republic Kenya on his British
passport on May 12, 2021 and was admitted as such at Jomo Kenyatta
International Airport, Nairobi. After his admission, he settled-in at a
temporary location in Nairobi, Kenya.
2, On June 19, 2021, our Client drove himself to Jomo
Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, Kenya on a personal errand. As soon as
he pulled to a stop at the parking lot and alighted from his vehicle, about
twenty well-armed persons violently accosted and abducted him, handcuffed him,
blindfolded him, bundled him into a vehicle and sped away.
3, His abductors took him to a secret private location (not
a police station) somewhere in Nairobi, Kenya and chained him to the floor. He
was neither shown a Warrant of arrest or extradition, nor told why he was
abducted. The abductors did not tell him who they are but from their
conversations, he surmised that they were working for the Government of Nigeria
(GON) and its security agencies.
4, While chained to the floor, his abductors took turns
beating and torturing him to the point that he fainted several times and was
intermittently revived when they poured cold water on him.
5, During the tortures and beatings, his abductors taunted
him, verbally degraded him and called him a “separatist Igbo Jew”. They also
told him he will be “expelled to Nigeria to face death”. He was chained to the
floor for eight (😎 days and was thus forced
to relieve himself of urine and excrement where he was chained.
6, Throughout the duration of his secret captivity and
torture, he was not allowed to bathe and was fed only on bland bread once a day
and given non-sanitary water to drink; and except for the presence of his
abductors, he was in solitary confinement the entire eight days. Section 3(2)
of the Anti Torture Act states that “Secret detention places, solitary
confinement, incommunicado or other similar forms ofdetention, where torture
may be carried on are prohibited”.
7, The inhuman treatment, cruelty and degradation to which
the abductors subjected our Client and the external and internal injuries he
sustained therefrom coupled with his pre-existing poor health made him to live
in dread, fear and terror that he was going to die in captivity and his body
disappeared.
8, His anguished entreaties to his abductors to get him some
medication for his hypertension, heart condition and physical injuries were
inhumanely refused and his pleas to be taken before a Court or even an official
police or other law enforcement facility or allowed a phone call were flatly
refused.
9, Throughout the 8-day duration of the captivity and
torture of our Client, his torturers were in constant telephone conversations
with, and taking directives and instructions from the Nigerian High
Commissioner to Kenya and other Nigerian officials. Section 2 of the Anti
Torture Act makes a person complicit in torture when it is “inflicted by or at
the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or
other person acting in an official capacity”. Similarly, Section 8(2) provide
that “A superior military, police or law enforcement officer or senior
government official who issues an order to a lower ranking personnel to torture
a victim for whatever purpose is equally liable as the principal”.
10, On the eight day, his abductors brought him out of the
house, put him in a car, drove him straight to the tarmac of Jomo Kenyatta
International Airport, where they evaded Kenyan immigration and forcibly
bundled him into a private jet that departed the airport before noon on June
27, 2021 and arrived Abuja, Nigeria in the early evening of same day.
11, Throughout the duration of the flight from Nairobi to
Abuja, our Client’s wrists and ankles were manacled so tightly that he was in
extreme physical and mental pain for the entire duration of the flight. He also
had the muzzle of a gun pointed to, and roughly rubbing the nape of his neck
throughout the duration of the flight.
12, On arrival in Nigeria, our Client was taken to and
detained at the headquarters of the Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA) in
Abuja. He spent the first night at the NIA detention facility, sleeping on the
floor with very bright electric bulbs deliberately left on throughout the
night, thus causing him extreme bodily heat, sleep deprivation and mental anguish.
13, Our Client states that, from 29th June 2021 to date, he
has been subjected to solitary confinement, lasting for 23 hours each day at
the Headquarters of the State Security Services in Abuja. Since then, our
Client has repeatedly requested independent medical examination by a physician
of his own choice but the requests were denied. Section 7 of the Anti Torture
Act provides that “(1) A person arrested, detained or under custodial
investigation shall have the right to be informed of his right to demand a
physical and psychological examination by an independent and competent doctor
of his own choice after interrogation, which shall be conducted outside the
influence ofthe police or security forces.
(2) The medical report shall include in detail the history
and the findings of the physical and psychological examination and shall be
attached to the custodial investigation report; otherwise, such investigation
report is deemed void”.
14, The Government of Kenya (GOK) has publicly denied
complicity and involvement in the said abduction, disappearance, torture and
extraordinary rendition of our Client and asserted in judicial proceedings that
there was no extradition, expulsion or deportation proceedings against our
Client anywhere in Kenya. In particular, GOK asserts that its official records
indicate that our Client is still in Kenya. See Attachment 1.
15, Our Client has life-threatening serious health
conditions, namely: heart disease and hypertension, which have been dangerously
aggravated by the mental and physical torture he was subjected to.
16, It is our considered position that the totality of what
happened to our Client as enunciated above unarguably met the definition of
Torture under Section 2 of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017, which also states at
Section 9(1) that “A person who contravenes section 2 of this Act commits an
offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 25
years”.
17, It is our further position that regardless of the
severity of the offense alleged against our Client, there is absolutely no
justification for the egregious torture our Client endured. Section 3(1) of the
Act provides that “No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of
war or a threat of war internal political instability or any other public
emergency, may be invoked as a justification for torture”.
17, In view of the forgoing, we hereby make the following
Prayers:
(a) That, consistent with the provisions of the Anti-Torture
Act, 2017, the office of the Attorney-General take prompt measures to initiate
the prosecution of all persons that were directly or indirectly culpable in the
torture of our Client. For your ease of reference, Section 5 of the Anti
Torture Act provides that: “(1) A person who has suffered or alleges that he
has been subjected to torture shall have the right to complain to and to have
his case promptly and impartially examined by a competent authority.
(2) The competent authority under subsection (1) shall take
steps to ensure that the complainant is protected against all ill-treatment or
intimidation as a consequence of his complaint or any given evidence”.
(b) That, said prosecutorial action be levied in line with
Section 8 of the Anti Torture Act which provides that “(1) A person who
actually participates in the infliction of torture or who is present during the
commission of the act is liable as the principal.
(2) A superior military, police or law enforcement officer
or senior government official who issues an order to a lower ranking personnel
to torture a victim for whatever purpose is equally liable as the principal.
(3) An order from a superior officer or from a superior in
the office or public authority shall not be invoked as a justification for
torture.
(4) The immediate commanding officer of the unit concerned
of the security or law enforcement agencies is held liable as an accessory to
the crime for any act or omission or negligence on his part that may have led
to the commission of torture by his subordinates”.
In conclusion, we call your attention to the provisions of
Section 1 of the Anti Torture Act, which states that “The Government shall—
(a) ensure that the rights of all persons, including
suspects, detainees and prisoners are respected at all times and that no person
placed under investigation or held in custody of any person in authority shall
be subjected to physical harm, force, violence, threat or intimidation or any
act that impairs his free will: and
(b) fully adhere to the principles and standards on the
absolute condemnation and prohibition of torture set by the Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria and various international instruments to which
Nigeria is a State party”.
While thanking you for the expeditious prosecution of this
Complaint, please be assured of our highest esteems for your person and good
offices.
Sincerely:
ADULBERT LEGAL SERVICES
___________________________
Aloy Ejimakor, Esq.
Special Counsel to Nnamdi Kanu
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