A member of the legal team representing the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has renewed calls for his release, insisting that his continued detention by the Federal Government has no legal foundation.
In a statement titled “The real theatre is in Abuja, not IPOB”, Barrister Onyedikachi Ifedi argued that Kanu’s arrest and repatriation from Kenya in June 2021 contravened both domestic and international legal procedures.
He cited the Court of Appeal judgment in FRN v. Kanu (CA/ABJ/CR/625/2022), delivered on October 13, 2022, which declared that the manner of his rendition violated his fundamental rights and consequently nullified the charges.
“The Court of Appeal made a binding pronouncement on the illegality of the rendition. Once jurisdiction is affected, the proper legal order should be a release,” Ifedi said.
The lawyer further contended that the legal foundation of the case against Kanu had collapsed, since the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act 2013, under which he is being tried, had already been repealed and replaced by the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act 2022. “Any charge predicated on a repealed law cannot stand,” he stressed.
Quoting past judicial precedents, Ifedi maintained that the government had failed to establish any acts of violence directly linked to Kanu. According to him, the allegations are largely tied to his speeches and broadcasts.
“Expression of opinion, even if unpopular, is protected under Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution,” he argued.
He added that any appellate court discharge of Kanu legally signified acquittal, warning that reopening the case would amount to double jeopardy, which is constitutionally prohibited.
Ifedi therefore urged the Federal Government to respect the rule of law and release Kanu “in the interest of justice, peace, and national reconciliation.”
