APPEAL COURT DISCHARGES NNAMDI KANU
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has discharged Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra.
A three-man panel of the appellate court on Thursday held that the Federal High Court lacks the jurisdiction to try Mr. Kanu on the grounds of his rendition to Nigeria which violates the protocol on extradition and the OAU convention.
The court held that the Federal Government failed to disclose the exact location Mr. Kanu was arrested; neither did the 15-count charge against him disclose the place, date, time, and nature of the alleged offenses before extraditing him.
It added that the manner in which Kanu was procured and brought before the court was not evaluated by the lower court, before assuming jurisdiction to try him.
The lower court having failed to address the preliminary objection challenging its jurisdiction, particularly the issue of abduction and extraordinary rendition from Kenya to Nigeria, the lower court failed to take cognizance of the fact that a warrant of arrest can only be executed anywhere within Nigeria, the appeal court judgement said.
Consequently, the appellate court discharged Kanu of the charges proffered against him by the federal government.
Recall Kanu was re-arraigned in October 2021, after his extradition before Justice Binta Nyako on his alleged involvement in acts of terrorism.
Though he pleaded not guilty to the fresh 7-count charges bordering on alleged terrorism and treasonable felony slammed, on January 18, 2022, the federal government proffered fresh 8 terrorism charges against him, increasing the number to 15 of which he also pleaded not guilty to.
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