The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has accused the British government of displaying “glaring double standards” after British-Egyptian activist, Alaa Abd el-Fattah, returned to the United Kingdom following his pardon by Egyptian authorities.
According to IPOB, while the British government intervened in Abd el-Fattah’s case, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, a British-Nigerian citizen and IPOB leader, continues was jailed in Nigeria.
Before his imprisonment, Kanu was held for five years by the Department of State Services (DSS) after his extraordinary rendition from Kenya to Nigeria in 2021.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer publicly celebrated Abd el-Fattah’s return on December 26, calling it “a profound relief” and a priority for his administration.
IPOB, however, claims the same urgency has not been extended to Kanu, who they say has faced illegal rendition and detention for more than four years without meaningful intervention from London.
The group spokesperson, Emma Powerful, in a statement on Sunday, said Britain’s approach exposes a discriminatory attitude to the rights of its own citizens abroad.
“Yet, for over four years, the same government has offered only minimal consular support to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu — a dual British-Nigerian citizen and Judeo-Christian advocate for peaceful self-determination — who was subjected to extraordinary rendition from Kenya in June 2021, tortured, and detained in violation of international law. At no time has Britain prevailed upon Nigeria to obey the multiple judicial decisions condemning Kanu’s rendition and ordering his release,” IPOB said.
“This selective advocacy raises profound questions about consistency in protecting British citizens. Had Mazi Nnamdi Kanu been Muslim, it is inconceivable that the UK would have remained passive in the face of his unlawful abduction, sham proceedings, and recent vindictive life sentence.”
IPOB listed several legal decisions it says the Nigerian government has refused to obey.
It said, “A Federal High Court, in its judgment of October 26, 2022, ordered the Nigerian government to return Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to Kenya, halt his trial, and pay N500 million in damages for the unlawful abduction and violation of his rights.
“The Nigerian Court of Appeal, in its judgment of October 13, 2022 (Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CR/625/2022), discharged and acquitted Kanu, ruling that his extraordinary rendition from Kenya without due process violated international law and stripped Nigerian courts of jurisdiction to try him.
“The United Nations Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, in Opinion No. 25/2022 (adopted April 2022, published July 20, 2022), found Kanu’s deprivation of liberty arbitrary under multiple categories, in contravention of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Working Group called for his immediate release, compensation, and investigation into those responsible.
“A Kenyan High Court, in its June 2025 judgment, declared Kanu’s abduction, incommunicado detention, and transfer to Nigeria unlawful and unconstitutional, awarding him compensatory damages.”
“Despite these binding findings, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu remains in detention following a controversial November 20, 2025, Federal High Court conviction and life sentence — a ruling accomplished legal minds have described as relying on a repealed law and ignoring higher court precedents,” it said.
IPOB also drew connections between the UK’s colonial history in southeastern Nigeria and its alleged indifference to Kanu’s plight, citing the “Ekumeku movement, the Aba Women’s Uprising of 1929, the Enugu coal miners’ struggles, and the Biafran War — events that underscore the Igbo people’s longstanding quest for dignity and justice”.
The group argues that Britain’s foreign policy posture continues to reflect unresolved bias against the Igbo population and Biafran self-determination.
The group called on the United Nations, African Union, European Union, and United States to intensify pressure on Nigeria to free Kanu; Britain to match its advocacy for Abd el-Fattah in Kanu’s case; and human rights organizations and faith leaders to intervene.
It said, “Britain cannot publicly celebrate the freedom of one activist as a ‘top priority’ while offering mere statements for another British citizen whose detention has been ruled arbitrary and unlawful by the UN and multiple courts — especially when the disparity appears tied to faith and geopolitical alignment. Justice must be blind and equal.
“We demand fairness, transparency, and the immediate release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.”
