By ABDULKABIR MUHAMMED

The Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development (FENRAD), a Nigeria-based human and environmental rights organisation, has charged the federal government of Nigeria to protect Nnamdi Kanu's rights while in prison. Following a Federal High Court judgment in Abuja, presided over by Justice James Omotosho on Thursday, in which the separatist leader of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, was sentenced to life imprisonment, there have been several concerns about the preservation of Kanu's rights in prison.

Nnamdi Kanu was convicted of terrorism charges in a decade-long case. However, in a statement endorsed by its Executive Director, Comrade Nelson Nnanna Nwafor, FENRAD described the judgment as "a critical moment requiring heightened vigilance, transparency, and strict adherence to human rights standards."

The organisation has also urged the federal government to allow Nnamdi Kanu access to communicate with his legal team, insisting that "all detention conditions must be humane, lawful, and subject to public accountability."

Meanwhile, the group has also warned the federal government against neglecting the political and social grievances behind the IPOB agitation. They claim that such neglect might amount to over-policing, extra-judicial abuses, collective punishment of communities, and state-citizen mistrust.

"Human rights standards require that security responses must not lead to the erosion of civil liberties or community freedoms."

The group has also urged the federal government to uphold international human rights laws, of which Nigeria is a signatory.

FENRAD has demanded that Kanu's safety be guaranteed without interfering in his appeal. They also urged the federal government to address underlying grievances in Southeast through stakeholders' engagement. Finally, the group demanded that independent observers be allowed access to monitor Kanu's welfare without intimidation.

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