US Lawyer Urges Court to Drop All Charges Against Nnamdi Kanu

Bruce Fein, the American lawyer representing the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has written to Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja, urging him to dismiss all charges against his client.

Fein’s appeal, contained in a letter dated October 28, 2025, argued that the court lacks jurisdiction to continue Kanu’s prosecution because the Nigerian government allegedly violated international laws in bringing him back from Kenya.

According to the U.S.-based attorney, no government should benefit from its own wrongdoing. He cited international legal precedents, including a 1928 ruling by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, which warned that governments lose legitimacy when they break the law to enforce it.

“If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for the law and invites anarchy,” Fein quoted from Justice Brandeis’ judgment.

Fein maintained that Kanu’s rendition involved kidnapping and torture acts he described as jus cogens crimes under international law, meaning offenses so severe that no state can lawfully commit them.

He referred to a July 2022 opinion by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which found that Kanu’s arrest and transfer to Nigeria violated international law and called for his immediate release.

The lawyer further warned that continuing the trial could implicate the presiding judge in the alleged illegalities of Kanu’s rendition, exposing the court to potential international scrutiny.

“If you refuse to dismiss the charges, you risk being complicit in the crimes of the Nigerian government,” Fein stated, cautioning that such actions could attract prosecution before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Meanwhile, the Nigerian government insists that Kanu faces terrorism-related charges. However, his legal team maintains that the charges are invalid because he was unlawfully taken from Kenya in June 2021 a move both local and international courts have condemned.

Kanu’s Nigerian counsel, Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, has repeatedly argued that the government’s refusal to obey court orders  including bail rulings strips the court of moral and legal authority.

The case, previously handled by Justice Binta Nyako, was later reassigned to Justice Omotosho after renewed motions challenging jurisdiction.

Since his rendition in 2021, Kanu has remained in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja. His prolonged detention continues to attract criticism from human rights groups and international observers.

Fein, a former U.S. Associate Deputy Attorney General, has consistently called for international sanctions against Nigerian officials involved in Kanu’s case, describing the prosecution as a violation of global human rights standards.