The Court of Appeal in Abuja has reserved judgement on an appeal filed by the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, to quash the 7 count terrorism and treasonable felony charge preferred against him by the Nigerian Government.
The three-man panel, led by Justice Jummai Hanatu, adjourned after listening to the submissions of both lawyers in the suit.
The leader of the proscribed Indigenous people of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, was first arraigned on terrorism and treason charges in 2015.
Seven years on, no decision has been made regarding his sentencing.
The federal government has on several occassions amended the charges preferred against the IPOB leader and this has resulted in the elongation of the trial period.
The April 8 ruling of the trial court which struck out eight of the 15-count charge preferred against Kanu by the federal government on grounds that they did not disclose any offense by the defendant.
The IPOB leader had then approached the appellate court to query the legal competence of the 7-count charge against him insisting that the charges entered against him by the federal government had no basis in law.
In his appeal, Kanu had applied to be discharged and acquitted.
He also urged the appellate court to order his release on bail pending the determination of his appeal.
When the matter was called up on Tuesday, a three-man panel led by Justice Jummai Hanatu, said the issue of bail will depend on the outcome of the appeal since the substantive appeal was set for hearing.
Kanu’s counsel, Mike Ozekhome, while arguing his appeal, alleged that his client was forcefully abducted from Kenya and illegally renditioned back to Nigeria, without following any extradition process, as Kenya, ought to have authorised his extradition.
He also argued that under the Doctrine of Speciality as provided for in section 15 of the Extradition Act, the Federal Government ought to have proceeded to try Kanu on the five-count charge he was initially facing before he escaped from the country when his home was evaded.
Ozekhome also noted that the forceful rendition of the appellant was not denied by the federal government.
Ozekhome also told the court that the charge appears to give the lower court a global jurisdiction over offences that were allegedly committed by the Appellant, without specifying the location or date the said offences were committed.
He therefore urged the court to dismiss all the charges against his client.
The counsel for the federal government, David Kaswe, however urged the court to dismiss the appeal for want of merit, maintaining that the IPOB leader was brought back to the country by due process of the law.
After listening to the arguments, the panel reserved a date to be communicated to the parties for the judgement.
Editor : Anoyoyo Ogiagboviogie
