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| Nnamdi Kanu |
Nnamdi Kanu, the arrested leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, or IPOB, appealed the Federal Government's decision to charge him with terrorism and treason, and the Court of Appeal in Abuja on Tuesday delayed judgement.
The IPOB leader, who is now being tried by the Federal High Court in Abuja, moved the appellate court through a team of attorneys led by Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, to question the legitimacy of the charges brought against him.
He expressly requested that the appellate court revisit the trial court's April 8 decision, which only dismissed eight of the 15-count accusation.
Kanu requested to be released and acquitted in his appeal dated April 29 and designated CA/ABJ/CR/625/2022, claiming that the case the FG brought against him has no legal foundation.
Kanu further requested that his release on bail be ordered by the appellate court while his case was being heard.
Although the appeal was initially scheduled for October 11, the appellate court moved the matter up for hearing after the embattled IPOB head submitted a motion for a shorter deadline.
On Tuesday, when the case was summoned, a three-person panel chaired by Justice Jummai Hanatu stated that there was no need to address the topic of bail because the substantive appeal was ready for hearing.
Chief Ozekhome, SAN, who was arguing the appeal, said that his client had been illegally returned to Kenya after being forcibly kidnapped out of Kenya.
He informed the court that after being initially charged on December 23, 2015, his client was later released on bail on April 25, 2017.
"My lords, he was making good on the conditions of this bail. He was, however, inside his ancestral home when Respondent agents broke into it in September 2017. By pure luck, he managed to survive and ended up in Israel first and later to London.
"On June 27, 2021, agents of the Respondents forcibly kidnapped the Appellant while he was travelling from London to Kenya, tortured him, and then renditioned him back to the nation without following any extradition process," said Ozekhome.
He contended that, in accordance with the Doctrine of Speciality as stipulated in section 15 of the Extradition Act, FG was required to proceed with Kanu's initial five-count charge trial before he fled the country.
He claimed that Kenya, the nation from which Kanu was detained and then bizarrely sent back to Nigeria, should have approved his extradition.
"The Respondent never refuted this accusation of his forced kidnapping and rendition.
"More importantly, my lords, the charge appears to grant the lower court global jurisdiction over offences allegedly committed by the appellant without mentioning the place or time of the alleged offences.
The lower court did not need to keep the remaining seven counts of the charge.
In light of this, Ozekhome continued, "We are seeking my lords to throw out the remaining counts and hold that the Respondent has not produced any prima-facie case against the Appellant for which he might be prosecuted."
Meanwhile, FG requested the court to reject the appeal for lack of merit through its attorney, Mr. David Kaswe.
He insisted that the IPOB leader was returned to the nation after following the proper legal procedures.
He contended that the appellant's actions were to blame for the charge's seven amendments.
"My lords, it took four years and significant resources to apprehend the Respondent and bring him back to answer for the accusations.
"The prosecution is always ready and eager to start the appellant's trial.
"We contend that the trial court erred in even striking out the eight counts as a whole.
"The Appellant could not assert that no prima-facie case was established until FG had presented all of its witnesses and evidence.
Finally, Kaswe said, "we recommend this court to dismiss the appeal for lack of substance."
The panel declared that it will transmit a date for the ruling after hearing from both sides.
