The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed the pending charges against Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) by the Nigerian government.
At this hearing on Thursday, October 13, 2023, presided over by Judge Jummia Hannatu Sankeey, two other judges said that the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu in Kenya and his return to Nigeria was against the law.
The judges ordered Kanu’s release as they maintained that his arrest was illegal.
Remember that the Nigerian government arrested Kanu in the year 2021 in Kenya and charged him with 15 charges including conspiracy to overthrow the Nigerian government.
On the 8th day of April, 2022 the judge dismissed eight of the 15 cases but Kanu through his lawyers headed by Mike Ozekhome made a plea on these charges marked CA/ABJ/CR/625 /2022, and requests that seven charges be struck out as they are unfounded.
As they completed this complaint in September, the case was moved to today, the 13th of October, the day the court declared and ordered the release of Nnamdi Kanu because the method of his arrest was unfair and illegal.
The court said that the 15 charges did not state the place, date, time and the nature of the crime that Kanu committed before he was illegally arrested and returned to Nigeria.
They went on to say that the Nigerian government refused to reveal where Nnamdi Kanu died despite the accusations they made against him and said that his return to a ‘kidnap’ was against his rights.
They also said that the manner in which Kanu was arrested and brought back was not part of what the high court had considered before starting his trial there which was not correct according to them.
The judges also said that the high court did not pay attention to the issue of obtaining and emphasizing the right to arrest Kanu which was only available in Nigeria and said that this is why the case is continuing in the high court. of Abuja should be stopped too.
Recall that Ozekohome said that their complaint was based on Section 15 of the Extradition Act and that the federal government should prosecute Kanu who has five charges against him before he flees Nigeria.
The lawyer for the Nigerian government, David Kaswe, said in September that the complaints were unfounded.
In this case, the first and second judges who spoke explained that this means that Kanu’s ongoing trial at the Abuja High Court where he was transferred by the Federal Government of Nigeria will be stopped for the time being due to the arrest process. broke the law.
He said that the authority of the high court in judging this case is not covered by sand and soap.
