UK demands Nnamdi Kanu from FG, reacts to IPOB proscription

The United Kingdom has asked the ​Nigerian ​government to ​comment on the whereabouts of ​ Nnamdi Kanu ​,​ leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, ​IPOB.

 The Press Officer, UK high commission in Nigeria, Joe Abuku, ​disclosed that Britain already made ​an official ​ inquiry ​about Kanu.

“We are seeking urgent clarification from the Nigerian authorities about the status and whereabouts of Mr. Kanu, a British-Nigerian man, who has been reported missing since September 14,” Abuku ​told Punch.

Asked if the UK would strip Kanu of citizenship on account of the declaration by Nigeria that he was leading a terrorist organisation, the mission said it does not comment on individual cases.

“One of the conditions that can make the United Kingdom strip its citizen of nationality is if the person engages in a terrorist activity at home or abroad. And Kanu has dual citizenship and therefore a citizen of Nigeria and the UK,” the mission stated.

​On​ whether UK supported the Nigerian government’s proscription of the IPOB, Abuku stated that the group was not a proscribed organisation under the British law.

“The Indigenous People of Biafra is not a proscribed organisation in the UK,” ​ he stated.

He also declined comment on whether the IPOB might be designated as a terrorist group or proscribed by the British authorities.

“We do not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not under consideration for proscription.

“A decision to proscribe an organisation must be based on a belief that it is concerned in terrorism as defined in the Terrorism Act 2000, and it must be proportionate,” he said.