DESTROYING OLUGBENGA ADEBAMIWA’S PROPAGANDA ON EKPA, KANU AND THE BIAFRAN QUESTION

DESTROYING OLUGBENGA ADEBAMIWA’S PROPAGANDA ON EKPA, KANU AND THE BIAFRAN QUESTION

DESTROYING OLUGBENGA ADEBAMIWA’S PROPAGANDA ON EKPA, KANU AND THE BIAFRAN QUESTION

My attention has been drawn to the jaundiced article by one Olugbenga Adebamiwa, a Yoruba commentator, published by NewspotNG under the misleading headline: “From Finland to Nigeria: What Ekpa’s Conviction Teaches Us About Kanu and the Biafran Question.”
Let it be clear from the outset: this article is not journalism, it is propaganda—crafted to deceive the public and to prepare the ground for a judicial ambush against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu ahead of his next court date.

1. FALSE COMPARISON: EKPA IS NOT KANU
   Adebamiwa fraudulently compares Simon Ekpa’s conviction in Finland with Mazi Kanu’s trial in Nigeria. Nothing could be more dishonest.
   Ekpa was tried in Finland under Finnish law, with due process, open evidence, and full access to lawyers. His conviction is his personal cross to bear.
   Kanu, by contrast, was a victim of extraordinary rendition—illegally abducted from Kenya and brought to Nigeria in clear violation of domestic and international law.
   The Court of Appeal of Nigeria (13 October 2022)quashed all terrorism charges against Kanu, discharged him, and prohibited any further trial. That ruling stands. To compare a lawful conviction abroad with an unlawful persecution at home is shameless falsehood.
2. EXTRAORDINARY RENDITION IS A FACT, NOT “ALLEGED”
   The Kenyan High Court, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and Nigeria’s own Court of Appeal have all confirmed that Kanu was kidnapped in Kenya and illegally transferred. For Adebamiwa to keep using the phrase “allegedly renditioned” is not just sloppy—it is deliberate disinformation.
3. A CASE THAT HAS COLLAPSED
   In Abuja, prosecution witnesses have hidden behind screens and fake codenames, yet still collapsed under cross-examination. None has linked Kanu to any act of violence. The so-called case against him is dead. What keeps it alive is political interference, not law.
4. THE ETHNIC AGENDA
   It is no surprise that Adebamiwa, a Yoruba writer, pushes this poisonous narrative. Yoruba and Fulani propagandists have long been the frontline attackers of the Biafran cause. He should have properly referenced Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s treason case: Awolowo was tried within Nigeria’s jurisdiction, Kanu was abducted across borders in defiance of every known law. The two cannot be compared.
5. THE UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH
   The truth is simple: Nigeria has no case against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
   The Court of Appeal has already discharged him.
   The Supreme Court, in December 2023, did not overturn the finding that his rendition was unlawful.
   The UN has demanded his release.
   The government’s strategy is now propaganda—hiring pens like Adebamiwa to condition the public into believing a lie.

CONCLUSION
Olugbenga Adebamiwa’s article is a hatchet job—bereft of fact, dripping with bias, and soaked in state propaganda. The conscious public must reject this attempt to link Ekpa’s self-inflicted woes with Kanu’s judicially recognized persecution.
The law is clear. The judgment of the Court of Appeal must be obeyed.
Free Nnamdi Kanu now.

Signed
Barrister Christopher Chidera
Abuja-Based Lawyer & Human Rights Activist

@GuardianNigeria @adebamiwamichael
@SaharaReporters @DailyPostNGR @channelstv @LeadershipNGA @nigeriantribune @ARISEtv @UN @StateDept @EU_Commission @FCDOGovUK @UNDPPA @njcNig @NigerianBarz @DailyPostNGR