Nnamdi Kanu Remains In Detention

The detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), will continue as the Supreme Court upheld the federal government’s appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision ordering Kanu’s release. The apex court directed Kanu to face his seven-count terrorism charges at the Federal High Court, Abuja. The decision, made in October, was finalized after both the federal government’s counsel and Kanu’s legal team presented their concluding arguments. Chief Mike Ozehkome, SAN, representing Kanu, sought not only his client’s immediate release but also requested substantial punitive costs against the Federal Government. On the other hand, Tijani Gazzali, counsel for the federal government, urged the apex court to uphold the amended brief of argument and set aside the Court of Appeal’s judgment, resuming Kanu’s trial on terrorism charges. The Supreme Court was also asked to dismiss Kanu’s cross-appeal. The Court of Appeal in October 2022 had ruled for Kanu’s release, citing his alleged abduction, ill-treatment, and illegal transfer from Kenya to Nigeria to face charges of treason and terrorism. Despite the dismissal of the criminal case, Nigerian prosecutors appealed, and Kanu, currently 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, jumped bail in 2017, and reappeared in the UK and Israel. The Nigerian government has designated IPOB as a terrorist organization, accusing it of exacerbating ethnic tensions by asserting genocide against the Igbo people.