Bad Governance Behind Sit-At-Home, Not Nnamdi Kanu, Says Rights Activist

A human rights lawyer, Barrister Christopher Chidera, has said that the persistent Monday sit-at-home order in the South-East region is the result of bad governance and not the making of detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

Chidera, who stated this on Sunday, faulted what he described as “the deliberate misrepresentation” of facts by some commentators, who continue to link Kanu to the sit-at-home directive.

He was reacting to a recent commentary which said ‘justice, not politics, must decide Nnamdi Kanu’s Fate’, which, according to him, “cloaked government impunity in moral language while ignoring existing court judgments.”

He said the statement “is neither fair nor factual. What it calls justice is, in truth, the continuation of a political persecution that has long violated Nigeria’s Constitution and international law.”

The rights advocate explained that the leadership of IPOB had officially suspended the sit-at-home order years ago and had consistently condemned its continuation by what he called “criminal opportunists.”

“The truth is that the IPOB leadership officially ended the sit-at-home policy years ago,” he said. “They have repeatedly declared that those still enforcing it are not acting on Kanu’s instructions but are criminals exploiting his name to terrorize innocent people.”

Chidera noted that even from detention, Kanu had written through his lawyers in 2023 directing that all forms of sit-at-home should cease immediately.

“Kanu emphasized that the practice harms the South-East economy and discredits the genuine agitation for self-determination,” he stated. “It is therefore dishonest to keep linking him to something he has publicly and repeatedly condemned.”

Chidera also questioned claims that Kanu’s fate should simply be left “for the courts to decide,” describing his ongoing trial as a violation of due process and judicial authority.

“Kanu’s ordeal is not an example of due process but a glaring abuse of it,” he said. “He was unlawfully abducted from Kenya in 2021 — not extradited — and both Kenyan and Nigerian courts have ruled that his extraordinary rendition was unconstitutional.”

He recalled that the Court of Appeal in Abuja, in October 2022, discharged and acquitted Kanu on the grounds that his rendition stripped the trial court of jurisdiction.

“That judgment remains binding and irreversible,” Chidera said. “Under Section 36(9) of the 1999 Constitution, once a person has been discharged and acquitted, they cannot be tried again for the same offence. The continued detention and retrial of Kanu have no constitutional basis.”

Chidera further accused the government of applying double standards in its handling of security-related cases across the country.

“Kanu’s alleged offence was speech, not violence,” he said. “Meanwhile, known insurgents and militants in other regions have been granted amnesty, compensation, or reintegration. That selective application of justice exposes political and ethnic bias.”

He warned that continued disobedience of court orders by the government weakens public confidence in the justice system and emboldens lawlessness.

“Justice is not achieved by slogans,” Chidera maintained. “It means obeying court orders and applying the law equally to all citizens. Every major court that has heard Kanu’s case has affirmed that his rights were violated. Refusing to release him is what undermines justice—not the courts, not Kanu, and not IPOB.”

The activist urged the Federal Government to comply with the appellate court’s decision and release Kanu immediately, saying that doing so would demonstrate genuine respect for the rule of law.

“When commentators say ‘let justice decide,’ they must first ask whether justice is being allowed to function at all,” he said.

“The courts have spoken; the Constitution is clear. Continuing to detain a man who has been discharged and acquitted is lawbreaking by the state itself,” the activist said.

He warned that as long as government institutions continue to flout judicial orders, insecurity and public distrust will persist.

“The true path forward is simple: respect the rule of law, obey court judgments, and stop criminalizing legitimate dissent,” he said.

“Only then can justice cease to be a tool of persecution and become a promise of equality,” he added.