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Nnamdi Kanu’s legal team on Thursday asked President Bola Tinubu and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, to arrange for the release of the leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The team, led by Nnaemeka Ejiofor, filed the appeal after delivering a copy of an appeal letter seeking Mr Kanu’s release to the AGF office at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja on Thursday.
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”We call on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, who is a Democrat, and the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, not to follow the measures adopted by General Muhammadu Buhari that bind Nigeria.
“We believe that President Tinubu would do better and do the right thing by releasing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, not just releasing him but releasing every human being who calls himself a member of IPOB, whether they are justly or unjustly detained,” he said.
Kanu, who faces treason charges for his campaigns for secession from a Republic of Biafra divided into Nigeria’s southeastern states and parts of some neighboring states, has been detained since June 2021 during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. .
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He was first arrested in 2015 and held until 2017, when he was granted bail by the trial judge, Binta Nyako, of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
But he fled the country following the invasion of his home in Afara-Ukwu, near Umuahia, the capital of Abia State, in September 2017.
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Mr. Kanu has since stopped attending the trial, prompting the judge to revoke the bail he had been granted and order his arrest.
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The Nigerian government arrested Mr. Kanu in Kenya in June 2021 and brought him back to Nigeria to continue his trial.
During his first court appearance after his return to Nigeria, the judge placed him in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS), where he has remained since.
Why appeal for Kanu’s release?
Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB leader.
Ejiofor explained on Thursday that the appeal letter for the IPOB leader’s release was necessary following the AGF’s comments suggesting that Kanu’s case should be left to the courts.
The appeal letter referred to rulings from the federal and state High Courts and the Supreme Court, all of which stated that the rendition of Mr. Kanu from Kenya and the invasion of his residence were unlawful acts.
On 13 October 2022, the Abuja Court of Appeal dismissed terrorism and treason charges against Kanu, citing the manner in which the Nigerian government forcibly returned him to Nigeria.
But the Supreme Court would later overturn the Court of Appeal ruling and order his trial to continue at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Ejiofor argued that the AGF, which took office last year, may not have been fully informed of the entire truth about Kanu’s case.
He described his client’s ordeal in custody as government persecution that infringes on fundamental rights.
Call for release of detained IPOB members
Nnaemeka Ejiofor & Associates submits a letter to the Minister of Justice demanding that he consider the court ruling in favor of the release of Nnamdi Kanu. (PHOTO CREDIT: Emmanuel Agbo)
Ejiofor also called for the release of all IPOB members detained in military custody in Abuja.
He also accused the SSS of being the main agent responsible for the arrests and detentions of IPOB members, noting that numerous courts have ruled in favor of their immediate release.
Furthermore, Ejiofor said a judgment by the Enugu State High Court nullified the proscription of IPOB. He said the sentence must be respected and carried out.
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”The Enugu High Court has ruled that the form and manner in which IPOB was proscribed as a terrorist organization is incorrect. That judgment subsists because it came after the proscription of IPOB by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
”According to our law and jurisprudence, everyone must obey the judgment and sentence, which is the legal ruling of the Enugu State High Court,” he added.
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