Stop harassing my family - Nnamdi Kanu warns Nigeria's army chief

Stop harassing my family - Nnamdi Kanu warns Nigeria's army chief

The leader of the Indigenous People of Nigeria (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu,  warned the Nigerian Army Chief to ask his soldiers to desist from harassing his family members. This is coming on the heels of recent abduction and illegal detention of Kanu's sister and uncles by men identified as Nigerian military personnel as they left the Kuje Prison after visiting Kanu. 

Nnamdi Kanu’s Sister and uncles abducted and illegally detained by Nigerian soldiers on their way from Kuje Prison

In a petition to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai, the leader of the IPOB through his lawyer Ifeanyi Ejiofor accused the Nigerian army of gross violation of the fundamental human rights of his sibling and relatives.

The letter exclusively obtained by NAIJ.com was dated September 8, and receipt acknowledged by the army headquarters on the same date.

Lt. Gen Buratai

NAIJ.com had in a story reported how Kanu’s younger sister Princess Tonia narrated the ordeal she and some of her uncles suffered in the hands of 14 security operatives while visiting her brother in Kuje prison on Tuesday, September 6.

Princess said the operatives – 12 full dress soldiers and 2 other in mufti – ambushed her and her uncles after exiting the prison facility.

She told NAIJ.com that the security operatives, fully armed kept them in their white Toyota Hiace bus after double-crossing their own vehicle.

She said their names, numbers and addresses were collected by these Nigerian army’s personnel before they were released.

However, in the letter, Kanu’s lawyer said: “We were further reliably informed by our client’s relatives (the victims) that the ferocious soldiers who abducted these hapless, innocent and harmless citizens were fully aware that they were coming out of the prison were they visited Nnamdi Kanu.”

Ejiofor said the trigger-happy soldiers sporadically fired shots into the air to dispel passers-by during the ambush.

He accused the Nigerian army of harassing and assaulting Kanu’s relatives who were detained for one hour and kept incommunicado throughout the incident.

He said the soldiers only released Kanu’s sibling and relatives after the arrival of their boss who drove in a Peugeot 406 car.

He noted that the victims were forced to make available their phone numbers, names and contact addresses.

Listing the consequences of the harassment by the soldiers, Ejiofor said Princess, who led the visit is a diabetic and hypertensive patient yet to recover from shock and maltreatment suffered in the hands of the ‘overzealous’ soldiers.

He also said that it is appropriate to inform the chief of army staff of the harassment of Princess and others, despite obtaining necessary security clearance from relevant prison authorities before the visit.

He said: “The actions of these soldiers are a gross violation of the fundamental human rights of these relatives as enshrined in sections 34, 35 and 37 of the constitution of Nigeria and as such illegal and unconstitutional.

“We are not oblivious of the consequences of this gross violation of their fundamental human rights which is actionable, but we most respectfully urge you to investigate this serious allegation with a view to applying necessary sanctions where a prima facie is established.

“We shall not hesitate to adopt appropriate illegal remedies in a court of law if this arbitrary, imperious and unreasonable display of executive power is not checked,” Ejiofor concluded.