The Detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu has taken the Nigerian Government to the Supreme Court over his continuing detention.
Kanu is contesting the decision of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which on October 28 halted the execution of its verdict that rejected the terrorist charges the Federal Government preferred against him.
IPOB Leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
In a three-ground appeal that he filed through his legal team led by Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, Kanu argued that the Court of Appeal committed a legal error when it heard and decided on an application for a stay of execution of judgment in a criminal appeal made by Order 6, Rule I of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2021, and Section 17 of the Court of Appeal Act of 2004, and as a result caused a miscarriage of justice.
The IPOB leader asserts that neither the Court of Appeal Rules 2021 nor the Court of Appeal Act, 2004, include any provisions for a stay of execution of a Court of Appeal judgment entered in a criminal appeal.
“Section 7 of the Court of Appeal Act, 2004, specifically provides for a stay of execution of the judgment of the Court of Appeal in civil appeals.
“By the Supreme Court decision in Olisa Metuh Vs Federal Republic of Nigeria & Anor (2017) NWLR (PT. 1575) PP 157, an application for stay of proceedings/execution judgment of the court, shall not be entertained or brought under the inherent jurisdiction of the court provided for in section 6(6)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
“The jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal can only be invoked if the relief sought is such as it is empowered to grant by an enabling law or statute. No law or authority empowers the court below to grant a stay of execution in criminal appeals as such sought by the Respondent.
“An application for stay of execution of judgment in a criminal appeal can only be entertained when the Applicant who sought to stay the execution of the judgment being appealed against, has been convicted for an offense of murder or sentenced to death and is awaiting execution by the relevant authorities, Kanu argued.
Additionally, he argued that the appellate court erroneously decided to delay the implementation of the order for his release from custody because it did not properly consider the evidence before it.
“A High Court of competent jurisdiction sitting in the Abia State, Umuahia Judicial Division, had held that the agents of the Respondent set out as pythons to terminate the life of the Appellant, which led to the Appellant’s inability to appear in court to stand his trial.
“The certified true copy of the said judgment which was attached to the counter affidavit as “Evidence of the rapidly deteriorating health condition of the Appellant, copiously deposed to in the Appellant’s counter affidavit, which were neither denied nor controverted by the Respondent, and which is an exceptional and compelling circumstance that warranted the refusal of the Respondent’s application for stay, was not evaluated by the court below.
“It is the duty of a court in arriving at its decision, to properly evaluate the totality of the evidence before it, for the just determination of the case.
“The court below resorted to technicalities rather than doing substantial justice to the parties, in arriving at its decision. The ultimate aim of the law is doing substantial justice as opposed to technical justice
“The Respondent did not show any special or exceptional circumstance to warrant the grant of the application for stay of execution”, Kanu added.
As a result, he requested that the Supreme Court reverses the decision staying the implementation of the October 13, Court of Appeal's judgment made in his favor.
Kanu, who is currently in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), informed the Supreme Court that he would like to attend the appeal hearing.
Protests in Aba.
Meanwhile, protests are going on in Aba Abia State on Friday over the continued detention of the IPOB leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu by the Federal government.
Protesters in Aba carrying Biafran flags.
According to WithinNigeria, thousands of protesters trooped out onto the streets of Aba on Friday morning to call for the unconditional release of Kanu as earlier ordered by the Court of Appeal Abuja and the Federal High Court in Umuahia.
The protesters were chanting solidarity songs as they held Biafran flags and banners bearing the image of the IPOB leader.
The Appeal Court in a unanimous judgment, on Thursday, 13th October 2022 discharged and acquitted Kanu of the terrorism charges brought against him by the federal government.
The Court accused the FG of flagrantly breaking all known laws when it forcefully extradited Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria to continue his prosecution, adding that the Federal Government's actions stained the entire process it started against Kanu and constituted "an abuse of criminal prosecution in general."
However, the Federal Government has insisted that it does not want to release Nnamdi Kanu and approached the Court of Appeal asking for a stay of execution of the earlier judgment that favored the IPOB leader, referring to Kanu as "a flight risk person" and stating that the case against him raises national security concerns.
In what many have described as a surprising twist, the appellate court, two weeks after October 28, 2022, ruled to halt the execution of its earlier release order.
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