The Supreme Court has finally released the certified true copies of its judgment on Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Aloy Ejimakor, special counsel to the IPOB leader, announced this in a post on his X handle on Monday.
The Supreme Court had, on 15 December 2023, ordered a continuation of Mr Kanu’s trial on terrorism charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
But several weeks later, the court failed to transmit the file to the lower court despite issuing the order.
Mr Kanu had repeatedly condemned the failure of the Supreme Court to transmit the file, with his lawyer arguing that the action of the court was in violation of the Nigerian constitution which provided for the transmission of such files within seven days.
‘File now released’
“Today, the Supreme Court released the certified true copies of its judgment in Federal Republic of Nigeria versus Nnamdi Kanu,” Mr Ejimakor, the special counsel to the IPOB leader, announced on the microblogging platform on Monday.
The lawyer said the court also promised to transmit the case file to the Federal High Court Abuja on Tuesday (today).
“Sooner than later, we shall lock horns at the Federal High Court to free Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,” he stated.
Background
Mr Kanu, the IPOB leader, was first arrested in 2015 under the administration of the then President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Court of Appeal, Abuja, on 13 October 2022, held that the IPOB leader was extra-ordinarily renditioned to Nigeria and that the action was a flagrant violation of the country’s extradition treaty and also a breach of his fundamental human rights.
The court, therefore, struck out the terrorism charges filed against Mr Kanu by the Nigerian government and ordered his release from the facility of the State Security Service.
But the government refused to release the IPOB leader, insisting that he (Kanu) could be unavailable in subsequent court proceedings if released and that his release would cause insecurity in the South-east, where he comes from.
The government, through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, later appealed the court ruling and subsequently obtained an order staying the execution of the court judgment at the Supreme Court.
Delivering judgment on the appeal on 15 December, the Supreme Court reversed the acquittal granted to Mr Kanu by the lower court and consequently ordered continuation of his trial at the Federal High Court Abuja.