By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has expressed disappointment over the continued silence of the United Kingdom and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) over what described as open abuse of the law in the ongoing persecution of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, a British citizen and freedom fighter.

The group In a statement by its media and publicity secretary, Emma Powerful said that for four years, Nigeria’s judges and justices have twisted the law beyond recognition by ignoring the Constitution, disrespecting basic human rights, and abandoning the principles that make any judiciary worthy of respect.

The statement read In part, “More painful is the silence of those who should know better — the UK government that gave the world the common law, and the NBA that is supposed to defend the rule of law in Nigeria.

“The UK’s Silence Is Shameful. The UK government has watched quietly as its own citizen is treated unjustly by a system that no longer hides its bias. How can Britain, the birthplace of the rule of law, say nothing while Nigeria tramples on everything the common law stands for?

“The Court of Appeal’s discharge of Mazi Kanu was wrongfully overturned through a backdoor civil procedure that no honest lawyer would call lawful. The Supreme Court sent him back to face trial under a repealed law – the Terrorism (Prevention) Amendment Act 2013 – which no longer exists.

“He was remanded without a lawyer present, in open violation of his constitutional right to counsel. Fake DSS witnesses were allowed to testify – people who admitted they had never even met him.

And even after a Supreme Court Justice admitted that Justice Binta Nyako was biased, the same judge was returned to his case.

“If this had happened to a British citizen anywhere else in the world, the UK government would have spoken out loudly. But because the victim is a Biafran, there is silence – a silence that reeks of complicity.”

IPOB wondered Where the Nigerian Bar Association that was created to defend the rule of law is, nothing that it behaves like an association afraid of its own shadow.

It added, "Where are the senior lawyers who used to speak truth to power?

Where are the fearless voices that once stood up to military dictators?

“Instead of defending justice, the NBA now looks away while courts use dead laws to try citizens and while judges pretend not to see bias, forgery, and political pressure in their own ranks.

“This cowardice is destroying public trust in the judiciary. Judges are meant to be lions, not mice. The bench was once filled with brave men and women who preferred resignation to compromise – today, too many prefer silence to courage.

“Our Message to the UK and the NBA

You cannot claim to uphold justice abroad while turning your eyes away from injustice at home or among your citizens The UK and the NBA must explain their silence. They must stand up for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu – not because he is Biafran, but because justice itself is on trial.

“The persecution of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is not just a legal case – it is the mirror reflecting the decay of Nigeria’s judiciary and the moral failure of those who should defend justice.

“The world is watching. And history will not forget who stood silent while the law was buried in broad daylight.”