According to Peoples Gazette, the United Kingdom Parliament is ready to begin debating the "abduction" and repatriation of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria.
Kanu, who was traveling on a British passport, was not detained on British soil, according to the British authorities, because of the controversy surrounding the circumstances and where the separatist leader was returning from.
IPOB had accused the Muhammadu Buhari-led government of kidnapping its leader in an East African country, an allegation backed up by Kanu's lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, who said Kenya's special police force had arrested, detained, and tortured him before handing him over to the Nigerian government.
Meanwhile, Kenya's High Commissioner to Nigeria, Wilfred Machage, has denied that his country was engaged in Kanu's detention, claiming that it was not.
The charges were "deliberately created to stoke antagonistic attitudes in the minds of certain sections of the Nigerian people towards the people of Kenya," according to Machage.
However, according to a parliamentary calendar obtained by Peoples Gazette, a debate on the British government's assessment of Kenya's role in Kanu's detention will be held on Wednesday, July 7.
Lord Alton of Liverpool will raise the issue in the House of Lords, where he will question the government on the separatist leader's transfer to Nigeria, according to the paper.
“Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the alleged role of the Kenyan government in the detention and alleged mistreatment of Nigerian activist Nnamdi Kanu, (2) the circumstances surrounding Mr Kanu's transfer to Nigeria against his will, and (3) any assistance provided to him by the High Commission in Abuja. HL1665,” the document reads.
Dean Hurlock, the British High Commission's Head of Communications in Abuja, stated last week that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office would provide "consular" aid to Kanu.
Hurlock had stated, "With regard to any inquiries regarding whether the British High Commission is giving help in this instance, we can affirm that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office stands ready to provide "consular" support."
Kanu, a British national, was re-arrested by the Nigerian authorities last week and faces 11 counts of treason, treasonable crime, terrorism, and unlawful guns possession, among other charges.