Nigeria sues British-born leader Nnamdi Kanu over his detention

Indigenous People of Nigeria Ariba IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu was seen at the federal high court in Abuja, Nigeria, January 20, 2016. YENAGOA, Nigeria, September 8 Reuters - The separatist leader of a group in Nigeria has filed a lawsuit alleging that he was unlawfully transferred from Kenya to Nigeria and demanding he be freed and allowed to visit Britain according to media reports citing legal documents.

Nnamdi Kanu, who holds British citizenship, heads the Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB group which campaigns for part of southeastern Nigeria to secede and has been labelled as a terrorist organisation by the Nigerian authorities.

Kanu spent two years in jail in Nigeria, but disappeared from his jail list after he was freed on bail in April 2017. He was re-arrested in June this year and is being held in Abuja where he faces trial for treason and other charges. In a lawsuit against Nigerian government and security services filed in southeastern Nigeria, Kanu's lawyers alleged a series of violations of his fundamental rights, according to reports from several Nigerian media.

In particular, it said Kanu should be repatriated to Britain and that if Nigeria wants to detain him it should make an extradition request to the British authorities.

The Abia Court confirmed a suit had been filed and a hearing was scheduled for Sept. 21.

Reuters has asked the Foreign Office to give further details.

Nigeria has not revealed Kanu's circumstances. Kenya has denied involvement in the conflict. Following his latest detention, Nigeria said it had offered consular assistance to Kanu and asked Britain to explain the circumstances of his arrest. Kanu's detention stirred tensions in the southeast, homeland of the Igbo ethnic group, a region that tried to secede under the name Republic of Biafra in 1967 and triggered a three-year civil war in which more than a million people died.

IPOB repeatedly called on people across the southeast to stay at home in protest over Kanu's situation and some days markets, offices and schools were deserted. The latest stay at home day is scheduled for Thursday in protest against a planned visit to the region by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Amnesty International said in August that Nigerian security forces had tortured at least 115 people and arbitrarily killed or arrested scores of others as part of their crackdown on IPOB. The Nigerian government has not commented on the allegations. Reporting by Estelle Shirbon and Mark Heinrich, editing by Fikayo Owoeye, writing by Tife Owolabi and Angela Ukomadu.