Kenyan authorities have denied reports that the East African country aided the Federal Government of Nigeria in Nnamdi Kanu’s arrest and “extradition” to the country.
The Republic of Kenya made the clarification on Friday, 2nd July 2021, in a statement issued by the Kenyan Ambassador to Nigeria, Wilfred Machage in Abuja.
Machage accused the Nigerian media of linking President Uhuru Kenyatta, to the sting operation allegedly carried out by “Nigerian Intelligence” in the East Africa country.
The ambassador deemed the report as “spurious, derogatory and libellous deliberately concocted to fuel antagonistic feelings among certain sections of the Nigerian people.”
Furthermore, he challenged anyone with facts relating to the “when, where, who and how particularly involved in the alleged Nnamdi Kanu’s arrest” to come forward with them.
However, he refused to confirm whether the incident took place on Kenyan soil.
“Kenyan Government is appalled by the spurious, derogatory and libellous mention of the name of our dear President on this matter as has been reported,” Machage said while stating the commitment of its Government towards sustaining the historical bond with Nigeria.
The Information and Culture Minister of Nigeria, Lai Mohammed had earlier revealed that it had trailed the IPOB leader for over two years.
He said, “the re-arrest was made possible by the diligent efforts of our security and intelligence agencies, in collaboration with countries with which we have obligations. We will continue to respect and honour the obligations.”
Kanu, who is facing 11 counts of treason, treasonable felony, terrorism and illegal possession of firearms, among others, jumped bail in 2017 and left the country.
He was re-arraigned before a Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday and ordered to be remanded in the custody of the DSS, while the case was adjourned till July 26 and July 27.
The Federal Government says security and intelligence agencies were on the trail of Kanu for over two years before he was re-arrested.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed who disclosed this at a media briefing on Thursday in Abuja, said Kanu was living “a five-star life across several countries”.
The minister said Kanu’s re-arrest and repatriation was made possible through the collaboration of Nigerian security and intelligence agencies