Claims circulating on social media suggesting that the Kenyan government has initiated legal proceedings against Nigeria to demand the return of Biafran separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu are false.
Viral Facebook posts in May alleged that Kenya had filed a lawsuit at the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing Nigeria of abducting Kanu and calling for his immediate return.
The posts featured photos of Kenyan President William Ruto and Nnamdi Kanu, and quoted an unnamed Kenyan official claiming that Nigerian operatives infiltrated Kenya to abduct the IPOB leader—a move the posts described as potentially “a declaration of war.”
However, Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs has refuted the claims. Korir Sing’oei, the Principal Secretary of the ministry, told Reuters that no such legal action has been taken by Kenya.
“No such statement has been issued by Kenya,” he clarified, adding that the matter does not fall under the jurisdiction of the ICC.
Kanu, a British citizen and leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was initially arrested in Nigeria in 2015 and later released on bail.
He disappeared in 2017 but resurfaced in 2021 when he was brought back to Nigeria under controversial circumstances after being detained in Kenya.
His legal team has alleged that he was abducted by Kenyan forces, a claim the Kenyan government has consistently denied.
Speaking to Reuters, Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, confirmed he had no knowledge of any legal filing by Kenya against Nigeria regarding the matter.
An ICC spokesperson also clarified via email that the court deals exclusively with individual criminal responsibility for crimes such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity—not with cases involving disputes between nations. Currently, there is no Nigerian national listed among the ICC’s 33 publicly known cases.
Meanwhile, a representative from the International Court of Justice (ICJ)—the UN’s principal judicial organ responsible for settling legal disputes between states—confirmed that no case involving Kenya and Nigeria is currently on its docket.
Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not commented on the matter despite requests.
Verdict:
False – Kenya has not filed any lawsuit against Nigeria regarding Nnamdi Kanu, according to Kenyan officials. Additionally, the ICC does not have jurisdiction over disputes between states.
