The Court of Appeal today in Abuja discharged and acquitted the leader of the proscribed militant group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, citing problems with his extradition from Kenya.
This followed a decision by a three-man panel led by Justice Jummai Hanatu to uphold an appeal by the leader of the militant Igbo group dated April 29 and marked CA/ABJ/CR/625/2022, in which he applied to be discharged and acquitted.
Kanu, who was first arraigned on December 23, 2015, was later granted bail on April 25, 2017.
In its ruling today, the Court of Appeal declared as illegal and unlawful the abduction of Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria and quashed the entire terrorism charges brought against him by the Federal Government.
It also held that the government breached all local and international laws in the forceful rendition of Kanu to Nigeria, thereby making the terrorism charges against him incompetent and unlawful.
In a judgment written by Justice Oludotun Adebola, the appellate court voided and set aside the charges.
The court noted that the governmen’s failure to follow the due process by way of extradition was fatal to the charges against Kanu.
It said the government was “ominously silent on the issue”, describing it as very pivotal in determining whether the court had the jurisdiction to continue with the criminal proceeding before it.
It said: “In law, that is a costly failure and such failure is an admittance by the respondent.
“Where a party fails to controvert a deposition by an opponent, the issue not contested is deemed conceded.”
The court added that the onus was on the government to prove the legality of the appellant’s arrest and return from Kenya.
It further held that the failure of the government to disclose where and when the alleged offences were committed was also fatal to the terrorism charges and made them liable to dismissal.
The court also noted that Nigeria is a signatory to the OAU Convention, which it ratified on April 28, 2022, as well as the Charter of Human and People’s Rights which prescribed how a wanted person could be transferred from one country to the other.
It held that any extradition request must be in writing, with a statement indicating offences for which a person is wanted.
The court held that the government’s action tainted the entire proceeding it initiated against Kanu and amounted to “an abuse of criminal prosecution in general”.
It said: “The court will never shy away from calling the Executive to order when it tilts towards executive recklessness.”
It accused the government of engaging in a “serious abuse of power”.
On the issue of the proscription of IPOB, the court said it would be pre-judicial for it to make an order on the issue since it is still on appeal.
It held that the proscription order by the lower court would subsist until it is set aside.
Reacting to the judgment, Kanu’s lawyer and human rights activist, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, commented on Facebook: “Appeal allowed, Oyendu Mazi Nnamdi KANU, discharged and acquitted. We have won!”
