IPOB accuses S’Court of conniving with Nigerian govt to detain Kanu perpetually

The failure of the Supreme Court to fix a date for the hearing of the appeal filed by Nigerian government over the Court of Appeal ruling on Nnamdi Kanu, has elicited strong reaction from the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Emma Powerful, IPOB spokesman on Tuesday, accused the Supreme Court of conniving with the Nigerian government to perpetuate Kanu’s unlawful stay in detention.

A Court of Appeal in Abuja had in October last year discharged and acquitted Kanu from all the terrorism charges levelled against him by the Nigerian government.

The court ruled that the arrest, abduction and subsequent arraignment of Kanu before a Federal High Court violated international convention on terrorism and, thus, robbed any court of law in Nigeria necessary jurisdiction to entertain the suit.

Despite the ruling of the court, the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, had insisted Kanu’s case was complex and that the IPOB leader could not be released. The appeal case filed at the apex court had not been attended to.

Powerful in the statement decried the seemingly intentional decision of the court to tarry in fixing the date for the hearing and accused it of complicity in the matter.

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The statement reads: “IPOB is very concerned about the lack of progress in the matter before the Supreme Court of Nigeria concerning its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

“The delay, neglect or refusal by the Nigerian Supreme Court for more than three months now and counting to fix a date to determine the appeal before them raises some doubts and questions as to whether the Nigerian Supreme Court has made itself complicit and a willing tool in the hands of the Nigerian government to delay and impliedly deny justice to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

“It should be recalled that the Appeal Court in Abuja had on the 13th of October 2022 discharged and acquitted Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and barred the Federal Government from further prosecuting him in any court in Nigeria. Rather than obeying the Appeal Court Order, the Federal Government ran to the Supreme Court on appeal.

“In what seemed to be a connivance between the Supreme Court judges and the Federal Government of Nigeria to continue the illegal detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the Supreme Court has refused to fix a date to hear the appeal before it.

“We are watching the Supreme Court of Nigeria, which incidentally is a constitutional court to redeem their battered image on the case of extraordinary rendition of Kanu which has been filed before them.

“They have a choice to legalize and institutionalise extraordinary rendition, which is an international crime or put the executive arm of government led by to order.”

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