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Former chairman of the Africa Subcommittee and now a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Representative, John James, has claimed that the case of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is proof of religious persecution in Nigeria.
James stated this when the United States House Subcommittee on Africa on Thursday, held a public hearing to review President Donald Trump’s recent redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.
The hearing in Washington, DC included senior US State Department officials and Nigerian religious leaders.
James claimed that in the case of Nnamdi Kanu, Nigeria’s Court of Appeal had struck down the charges against him and ordered his release in 2022.
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He said: “Religious persecution is tied to political repression and weakening institutions in Nigeria. The detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a clear example.
“In 2022, Nigeria’s Court of Appeals struck down the charges against him and ordered his release.
“The UN Working Group for Arbitrary Detention has also called for his unconditional release, yet he remains in solitary confinement in deteriorating health and recently had to represent himself in court.
“Nigeria has signaled that the law is optional and targeting Christians is fair game. Just hours ago this morning, despite the pleas and cries of Nigerian people and many Nigerian lawmakers, Kanu was convicted on all charges.”
The Abuja Federal High Court on Thursday declared that the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, is an international terrorist and anarchy minded person.
Justice James Omotosho in the ongoing judgment held that Kanu extended his terrorism acts to the United States of America when he ordered that the American Embassy be brought down in a broadcast.
The judge predicated his decision on another broadcast where the convict ordered that the destruction of the British High Commission and killing of their officials.
