Nnamdi Kanu protests court order against his release

Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has offered N1 million to any Nigerian law student who can find any precedent on stay of execution in a criminal proceeding in the country.

Mr Kanu’s legal team led by his special counsel, Aloy Ejimakor disclosed this during a press conference in Abuja on Thursday.

A video clip of the event was uploaded on Mr Ejimakor’s X handle on Friday. 

Emma Powerful, the IPOB spokesperson, forwarded a text of the press conference to PREMIUM TIMES.

Apart from Mr Ejimakor, other members of the legal team at the conference were Jude Ugwuanyi, Nnaemeka Ejiofor, and Mandela Umegborogu.

Continued detention

Mr Kanu, who is facing terrorism charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja, has been in detention since he was repatriated to Nigeria from Kenya in June 2021 under controversial circumstances.

The Court of Appeal, Abuja, on 13 October 2022, ruled that Mr Kanu was extraordinarily renditioned to Nigeria in violation of the country’s extradition treaty and breach of his fundamental human rights.

The court, therefore, struck out the terrorism charges filed against Mr Kanu by the Nigerian government and ordered his release from the facility of the State Security Service.

But the government refused to release the IPOB leader, insisting that he (Kanu) could be unavailable in subsequent court proceedings if released and that his release would cause insecurity in the South-east, where he comes from.

The government, through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, later appealed the court ruling and subsequently obtained an order staying the execution of the court judgement at the Supreme Court.

Never happened before

Speaking through his legal team Mr Kanu argued that the stay of execution of the court judgement freeing him had never been granted before in Nigeria.

The IPOB leader consequently offered N1 million to any law student who can provide evidence where a judge stayed the release order of a person acquitted by the court in a criminal proceeding.

“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu pledges to give any law student in any Nigerian university N1 million if such student finds any precedent on stay of execution in criminal proceedings where an acquitted person is by such order restrained from enjoying his freedom.

“It is an illegality that would hunt Nigeria for as long as life endures. But then, it was granted because Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is of Igbo descendants and must suffer, notwithstanding what the law says,” Mr Ejiofor said.

The legal team also argued that Mr Kanu’s continued detention was illegal and without any court backing.

Continuing the lawyer said: “It is noteworthy that Onyendu (Kanu’s) continued detention at the State Security Service is illegal and not predicated on any court order. Recall that Onyendu was remanded on the purport that Onyendu jumped bail.

“By the decision of the Court of Appeal, all the charges for which Onyendu is being tried were quashed for want of jurisdiction and in violation of the extradition Acts of both Kenya and Nigeria.”

He contended that Justice Tsamani of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division “unlawfully granted” the order staying the release of Mr Kanu.

“This order was illegally granted and never in the history of any country’s jurisprudence had an acquitted person been denied his release from detention by way of stay of execution,” he said.

Trial without revoking of his bail unconstitutional

The Supreme Court, while delivering judgement on the appeal by the Nigerian government on 15 December 2023, reversed the acquittal granted to Mr Kanu by the lower court and consequently ordered continuation of his trial at the Federal High Court Abuja.

But the legal team, at the press conference, argued that it is unconstitutional to continue Mr Kanu’s trial without restoring his bail revoked by the Federal High Court.

“You can imagine what it means for someone to be on an endless trial that never really happens for almost ten years,” Mr Ejimakor stated.

“And being detained without conviction for 18 months from 2015 to 2017 and again for over three and half years from 2021 to the present day. This alone is a grave injustice of its unique kind,” he said.

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Mr Ejimakor recalled the deadly invasion of Mr Kanu’s residence in Abia State by the Nigerian security forces which forced him to flee Nigeria in 2017.

The special counsel also narrated how the IPOB leader was extraordinarily renditioned to Nigeria from Kenya and the decisions of both Nigerian and African courts against it.

“Despite this, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is still detained to this day. That is not right and it is unconstitutional to boot,” he insisted.

The legal team also protested against the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court who allegedly returned the case file to Justice Binta Nyako to continue handling the trial of Mr Kanu despite recusing herself from the case.

“To this, we must go on record to state that both actions of the prosecutor and the chief judge are wrong and liable to fail constitutional muster,” Mr Ejimakor stated.

“Mazi Nnamdi felt that the only fair way out of this lockjam is to seek that his case should be handled by another judge hence the recusal that is still roiling the system.”