A member of the legal team defending Nnamdi Kanu, the incarcerated leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, or IPOB, Onyedikachi Ifedi, has explained why the federal government has to free the leader.
He was arguing that there was no legal justification for his client’s continuing detention as he resumed efforts for the federal government to free him.
Ifedi claimed that Kanu’s arrest and deportation from Kenya in June 2021 violated both national and international legal processes in a statement headlined “The real theatre is in Abuja, not IPOB.“
He cited the October 13, 2022, Court of Appeal ruling in FRN v. Kanu (CA/ABJ/CR/625/2022), which determined that the way he was rendered violated his fundamental rights and, as a result, the accusations were thrown out.
“Once jurisdiction is affected, the appropriate legal order should be a release,” he said, referring to the Court of Appeal’s legally binding decision regarding the illegality of the rendition.
He asserts that the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act 2013, the act under which Kanu is being tried, has been abolished by the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act 2022, and that “any charge predicated on a repealed law cannot stand.”
The lawyer highlighted that the accusations mostly center on comments and broadcasts, citing earlier court decisions, and claimed that the government has not shown any violent actions that are directly related to Kanu.
Ifedi reaffirmed that Kanu’s legal acquittal is signified by any appellate discharge, and that trying to reopen the case could amount to double jeopardy, which is forbidden by the Constitution.
However, in the spirit of justice, peace, and national reconciliation, he urged the Federal Government to uphold the rule of law and free Kanu.
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