Bruce Fein, an American constitutional lawyer has raised concerns over why the three key presidential candidates in Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, Bola Tinubu and Peter Obi have not promised to obey court verdicts to release the detained leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Kanu’s international lawyer and spokesperson, Fein, made this known in a tweet on Sunday, as he added the continued incarceration of the IPOB leader despite the court’s judgments as “lawless.”
He queried Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Obi of the Labour Party (LP) for not pledging compliance to the directive of the United Nations Working Group.
Fein said that anyone who accepted to take custody of Kanu from the Department of State Service (DSS) was illegally aiding and abetting a violation of the UN Working Group’s decision stating that his case is international.
“Arbitrary detention is a jus cogens norm of international law binding on all nations,” Fein tweeted. “The UN Working Group’s finding that Kanu was being arbitrarily detained in violation of 16 human rights covenants binds Nigeria. Why are Atiku, Tinubu, and Obi not pledging compliance? Lawless?”
He further said, “Anybody accepting custody of MNK (Mazi Nnamdi Kanu) from DSS illegally aids and abets a violation of the UN Working Group’s definitive decision directing his immediate unconditional release. MNK’s case is international. Strict compliance with the Working Group through me is the only option.”
