IPOB Accuses Britain Of Hypocrisy, Inaction Over Nnamdi Kanu After UK Condemned Israeli Govt
IPOB Accuses Britain Of Hypocrisy, Inaction Over Nnamdi Kanu After UK Condemned Israeli Govt
IPOB made the allegation in a statement issued on Friday by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, in reaction to recent comments by the British Foreign Secretary concerning real estate development in Jerusalem.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has accused the British Government of “selective outrage” and hypocrisy over its criticism of Israel, while allegedly failing to act on the United Nations’ findings concerning the Nigerian government’s prosecution and imprisonment of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
IPOB made the allegation in a statement issued on Friday by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, in reaction to recent comments by the British Foreign Secretary concerning real estate development in Jerusalem.
The pro-Biafra group said Britain has no moral authority to lecture Israel on international law while allegedly ignoring international findings on Kanu’s arrest, rendition from Kenya, prosecution and imprisonment in Nigeria.
“Britain forgot the UN – but we have not forgotten,” Powerful stated.
According to IPOB, the United Nations Human Rights Council and its relevant mechanisms had found that Kanu was subjected to torture and extraordinary rendition after he was forcibly returned from Kenya to Nigeria in 2021.
The group said the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had called for Kanu’s release and compensation over alleged violations of his rights.
“These are not the words of IPOB. These are the findings of the highest international human rights bodies,” Powerful stated.
IPOB accused Britain of failing to support what it described as international calls for justice for Kanu despite his British citizenship.
“And what did Britain do?” Powerful asked, accusing the UK of allegedly assisting Nigeria in resisting international pressure over Kanu’s case.
“The same Britain now lecturing Israel about ‘international law’ turned a blind eye to the torture of a British citizen,” he said.
IPOB also criticised Britain’s position on Israel, arguing that the British Government’s condemnation of Israeli policies had failed to adequately address Palestinian terrorism, incitement and what the group described as the Palestinian Authority’s “pay for slay” policy.
The group further accused Britain of contributing to anti-Semitism by allegedly applying international law selectively against Israel.
On Jerusalem and Israel’s territorial claims, IPOB said it recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s “eternal and undivided capital” and maintained that Jewish people had the right to live throughout what it described as the historic and Biblical land of Israel.
“We reject outright the patronising tone of the British government’s lectures,” Powerful said. “Jerusalem is Israel, and Israel is Jerusalem.”
IPOB also invoked the Balfour Declaration, saying Britain, despite its own colonial history, should not dictate where Jewish people could live in their historic homeland.
The group called on the UK Government to apply international law consistently and demanded that Britain publicly support the UN findings concerning Kanu.
IPOB demanded immediate public support for the UN position on Kanu, a public call on Nigeria to release him and pay compensation, and an end to what it described as the selective application of international law for political convenience.
“Britain must choose: respect international law for all, or be exposed as a hypocrite that uses law only as a weapon against its friends,” Powerful said.
