The legal team of the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu has called on President Tinubu, in an appeal made to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN for the release from custody of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The team, led by Barrister Nnaemeka Ejiofor, delivered a copy of the letter of appeal to the AGF’s office at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja, on Thursday, 06 June.
IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu currently faces charges of treasonable felony over his movement on the secession of Nigeria’s South-east states and some parts of neigbouring states. He has been in detention since June 2021.
His legal team lead by Ejiofor speaking to the press on Thursday said ‘’We are calling on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, who is a democrat, and the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, not to follow the steps laid down by General Muhammadu Buhari which tied Nigeria down. We believe that President Tinubu would do better and do the proper thing by releasing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, not only releasing him but by releasing every human being that is called an IPOB member whether justly or unjustly detained,’’
Kanu’s first arrest was in 2015. He was kept in detention until 2017 when he was granted bail by the trial judge, Binta Nyako, of the Federal High Court in Abuja. However, he stopped attending trials, fleeing the country following the invasion of his home at Afara-Ukwu near Umuahia, the Abia State capital, in September of the same year which prompted the judge to later revoke the bail granted him and ordered his rearrest. He was arrested in Kenya in June 2021 by the federal government and brought back to Nigeria to continue trial. Kanu has since remained in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS) after his first court appearance following his rearrest.
Noting the letter of appeal to the AGF calling for his release, his legal representives said it is deemed necessary following the AGF’s comments suggesting that Nnamdi Kanu’s case should be left to the courts to decide. The appeal letter referenced judgements from both the federal and state High Courts and the Supreme Court, all affirming that the IPOD leader’s rendition from Kenya and the invasion of his residence were unlawful acts.
It may be recalled that on 13 October 2022, the Court of Appeal in Abuja dismissed the terrorism and treasonable felony charges against Mr Kanu, citing the manner in which the Nigerian government forcibly brought him back to Nigeria. But the Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeal judgement ordering the continuation of his at the Federal High Court in Abuja, FCT.
While arguing that the judgement by the Enugu State High Court nullifying the proscription of IPOB be respected and enforced, Ejiofor also acknowledged that the AGF, who assumed office last year, may not have been reprised of the facts and truths of his client’s case hence, his protracted detention. He described Kanu’s ordeal in custody as government persecution infringing on fundamental human rights – as he called for the release of all detained IPOB members held in military custody. The lawyer also accused the State Security Services of playing the role in the arrests and detentions of IPOB members despite several court rulings assenting their release.
