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The American Veterans of Igbo Descent, AVID, in collaboration with Rising Sun Charities Organization and Ambassadors for Self-Determination, has petitioned the U.S. President Donald Trump to impose Global Magnitsky sanctions on a number of Nigerian judges and former Attorney General Abubakar Malami over their alleged roles in the detention and prosecution of Biafra agitator, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
In a letter addressed to the president on Friday, a copy of which was made available to journalists in Abuja, the groups accused the Nigerian judiciary of “gross violations of human rights” and complicity in what they described as the unlawful persecution of Kanu, who has been in detention since his extraordinary rendition from Kenya in June 2021.
The petition specifically listed Justice Binta Murtala-Nyako, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, Justice Hamma Akawu Barka, Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, former Chief Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, and former Attorney General Malami as those who “enabled arbitrary detention, extraordinary rendition, denial of fair trial rights, and suppression of free speech.”
None of them could be reached for comments.
AVID, which has been undertaking a serious campaign to free Nnamdi Kanu, wrote, “Judges enjoy no immunity for gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.”
AVID said in the petition, “Just as Nazi judges were prosecuted for sham trials and Russian judges have faced sanctions for arbitrary detention, Nigerian judges who endorse persecution must also be held accountable.”
The organizations recalled that the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had, in July 2022, declared Kanu’s detention unlawful, finding that it violated 16 international human rights covenants and ordering his immediate release and reparations.
“For over three years, Nigeria has openly defied the United Nations ruling, keeping Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in solitary confinement without trial,” said Chief Ugochukwu Nwosu, spokesperson for Rising Sun Charities. “This is a direct affront to international law and a stain on Nigeria’s judiciary.”
The petition also cited several legal decisions in Kanu’s favor, including a N500 million award by the Federal High Court in Umuahia in 2022, and a June 2025 ruling by the Nairobi High Court which declared his extraordinary rendition illegal and awarded KES 10 million in damages.
Despite these rulings, the Nigerian courts, according to the petitioners, have continued to justify his detention.
They further criticized the 2017 proscription of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, as a terrorist organization, calling it “a politically motivated move” endorsed through an illegal ex parte proceeding.
“No country in the world, including the United States, recognizes IPOB as a terrorist group. Yet Nigerian courts cling to that label as justification for persecuting peaceful activists.”
The group accused Justice Murtala-Nyako, the Judge of the Federal High Court Abuja, of “arbitrary detention, denial of right to counsel and access to necessary medical care, endorsement of ex parte prohibition of IPOB without due process.”
Also, it accused Justice Tsammani, then Presiding Justice, Court of Appeal, Abuja, now Justice of the Supreme Court, of “arbitrary detention.”
Similarly, it said Justice Barka, who presided over the case at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, should be sanctioned for affirming arbitrary ex parte proscription of IPOB.
While it accused Justice Garba, who was Justice of the Supreme Court, of “affirming arbitrary detention to enable the Nigerian government to profit from its own crimes against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,” it accused former Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman of the National Judicial Council, Olukayode Ariwoola, of “endorsing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s kidnapping, torture, extraordinary rendition, and arbitrary detention without trial.” The group said they should be sanctioned.
It alleged “the former Attorney General Abubakar Malami orchestrated Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s kidnapping, torture, extraordinary rendition, and arbitrary detention without trial” and should also be sanctioned.
The petitioners insisted that sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act are necessary to deter further abuses.
“Silence in the face of injustice emboldens dictators,” the petition concluded.
“By sanctioning these officials, Nigeria will be sending a clear message that human rights violations carry consequences, no matter where they occur.”
The organizations reiterated that their call is not merely about Kanu, but about broader accountability and the protection of human rights in Nigeria.
“This is about ensuring no judge, no official, and no government can trample on fundamental freedoms without repercussions. The world must not look away,” the petition ended.
