The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the continuation of the trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, on terrorism charges.
The case, which started in 2015, had been put on hold at the Federal High Court in Abuja after the Court of Appeal dismissed the charges in a judgement delivered in October 2022.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja had anchored its decision dismissing the charges on the illegality of the “extraordinary rendition” of Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021 to continue his trial.
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, declared on Friday that Kanu’s forcible repatriation from Kenya to Nigeria is illegal.
However, the court, in the lead judgement prepared by Justice Tijjani Abubakar, ruled that there is no Nigerian law that prohibits “illegally obtained evidence for the trial of a defendant”.
The lead judgement of the Supreme Court was prepared by Justice Abubakar but read on his behalf by Justice Emmanuel Agim.
The court held: “The Court of Appeal was wrong to say that the Federal High Court can no longer try Kanu. The appeal is allowed and the cross-appeal is dismissed”.
In the unanimous decision, the Supreme Court said that Kanu’s forcible repatriation from Kenya in June 2021 by the Nigerian government did not rob the trial court of jurisdiction to entertain the IPoB leader’s trial.
“Our law is that evidence illegality obtained is valid before the court. A violation of Kanu’s right should have been by way of civil proceedings. That is not our law for now”, Justice Abubakar declared.
He also ruled that there is no legislation that provides in Nigeria that trial should stop where the prosecution does something illegal against the defendant while standing trial. “There is a civil remedy”, Justice Abubakar said.
The judgement also implies an effective reversal of the previous decision of the Court of Appeal ordering Kanu’s release from detention.
The Federal Government had repatriated Kanu from Kenya after the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered his arrest for jumping bail in 2017.
Kanu was being tried before Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja, for terrorism.
On 13th October 2022, the Court of Appeal in Abuja dismissed the terrorism and treasonable felony charges filed against Kanu on the basis of his agitation for the secession of a Biafra Republic, comprising the five South-east states and parts of neighbouring states, from Nigeria.
A three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Justice Oludotun Adefope-Okojie, dismissed the terrorism and treasonable felony charges against Kanu.
The court had ordered his release from detention after striking out a seven-count charge pending before Justice Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Justice Adefope-Okojie held that Kanu’s forced return from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021 was a breach of local and international laws.
But, instead of complying with the appellate court’s decision ordering Kanu’s unconditional release, the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) filed an appeal at the Supreme Court.
The then AGF, Mallam Abubakar Malami, filed an application for a stay of execution of the Court of Appeal’s verdict on the separatist leade
But on 28th October 2022, another three-member panel of the Court of Appeal headed by Justice Haruna Tsammani, halted the execution of its judgement which freed Kanu of terrorism charges.
The government had applied that the execution of the judgement be suspended pending the resolution of its appeal filed at the Supreme Court.
In the ruling, Justice Tsammiani held that the counter-affidavit filed against the government application by Kanu’s legal team led by Prof. Mike Ozekhome was misleading.
Kanu has been leading secession campaigns of South-east region parts of South-south Nigeria for an independent state of Biafra.
The Federal Government has consistently blamed IPoB’s separatist activities for the violence in the Southeastern region of the cost.
The IPOB leader has been in the detention of the State Security Service since June 2021 when he was repatriated from Kenya to Nigeria. He was first arrested in 2015 under the administration of the then President Muhammadu Buhari.
