Ex-US attorney tells UN to designate IPOB leader, Kanu as ‘ internationally protected person ‘, Says Kanu qualifies as ‘Head of State ‘

Former U.S Attorney General, Bruce Fein,  has told the United Nations,  UN, to designate the Leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra,  Nnamdi Kanu as “Internationally Protected Person”.

 The no-nonsense US ex official in a letter to the UN bluntly told the world body that Kanu whose whereabouts has remained unknown since after the September 14,2017 military raid of his Afaraukwu Umuahia country home deserved Internertional protection.

He,  therefore,  urged the United Nations Security Council, under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter to designate Nnamdi Kanu as an “internationally protected person” as defined in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Internationally Protected Persons, Including Diplomatic Agents.

According to the letter sighted by Wawa News Global, Fein argued that Article I of the Convention defines an “internationally protected person as “A Head of State, including any member of a collegial body performing the functions of a Head of State under the constitution of the State concerned, a Head of Government or a Minister of Foreign Affairs, whenever such person is in a foreign state ….”

Fein contended that contrary to claims by the Nigerian Authorities that IPOB is a terrorist organization,  the antecedents and activities of the group do not suggest so. 

He said Kanu had become an endangered specie in his bid to protect and defend the rights of his people who have been subjected to second class citizens by the Nigerian Government. 

Fein said Kanu “qualifies as a Head of State ” and urged the UN to accord him such recognition to enable him enjoy international protection. 

The letter read in part : “In sum, Nnamdi Kanu, qualifies as a Head of State under the Convention.

“He is one of a group of IPOB leaders who perform the core government function in the South East region of Nigeria of protecting the physical safety of innocent civilian Biafrans from predation or murder by Hausa-Fulani terrorists. He is subject de facto to Nigerian martial law.”

Fein expressed shock at the dehumanizing treatment meted to Kanu and other Biafra agitators by the federal government and its agencies.

“He possesses lesser rights than a foreign diplomat in Nigeria. Mr. Kanu is a de facto foreigner in Nigeria and a Head of State in de facto foreign territory in the South East within the meaning of the Convention.

“The United Nations Security Council, through a resolution or otherwise, should designate Mr. Kanu as an internationally protected person.

“His status falls within the jurisdiction of the Security Council under Chapter VII of the Charter because the Nigerian Government’s threatened force or violence against him threatens international peace and security in West Africa and elsewhere.

“As an internationally protected person, Mr. Kanu falls within the protections of the Convention. Under Article 4. “

Meanwhile the letter has continued to dominate discussions in the country as Biafran protagonists and those sympathetic to their cause celebrate it while those opposed to the struggle feel sad.