The Supreme Court will tomorrow (December 15th) announce a verdict on the appeal that seeks to force the Federal Government to release Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), from custody.
In October, a five-member panel led by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun scheduled the date for judgment after the legal representatives for both the Federal Government and the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, concluded their final arguments.
Kanu Agabi led the legal team representing the IPOB leader, while Mike Ozehkome presented the appeal before the Supreme Court panel.
Ozehkome urged the court not only to order the immediate release of his client from detention but also to impose substantial and punitive costs against the Federal Government.
However, in his submission, counsel to the Federal Government, Tijani Gazzali, urged the Supreme Court to uphold the amended brief of argument filed on May 3, 2023.
He requested the court to grant the government’s appeal, overturn the judgment of the Court of Appeal that ordered Kanu’s release, and mandate the resumption of his trial on terrorism-related charges before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Gazzali further implored the apex court to dismiss Kanu’s cross-appeal.
On October 13, 2022, the Abuja Court of Appeal issued a verdict mandating the release of Kanu from detention. The court determined that he had been unlawfully seized, mistreated, and transported from Kenya to Nigeria to face charges of treason and terrorism.
Despite the dismissal of the criminal case, Nigerian prosecutors have filed an appeal, and Kanu, who is in his mid-50s, remains in custody.
Kanu, a former London estate agent and operator of the banned Radio Biafra station, was initially arrested in 2015 but fled on bail two years later, later reappearing in the UK and Israel.
The Nigerian government has designated IPOB as a terrorist organization, alleging that it exacerbates ethnic tensions by asserting genocide against the Igbos.