The petition aims to force the Federal Government to free Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), from detention. The Supreme Court will rule on the case tomorrow, December 15.
The date was set in October by a five-member panel chaired by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun following the adoption of the final argument papers by the attorneys representing the jailed IPOB leader and the Federal Government.
As the IPOB leader’s legal team was led by Kanu Agabi, Mike Ozehkome made his plea to the panel of the highest court.
In addition to requesting the immediate release of his client from custody, Ozehkome also asked the court to impose severe and punitive fines on the Federal Government.
However, Tijani Gazzali, the Federal Government’s attorney, petitioned the Supreme Court to uphold his modified brief of argument, which he filed on May 3, 2023.
He begged the court to grant FG’s appeal, overturn the Court of Appeal’s ruling ordering Kanu’s release, and enable his trial on terrorism-related charges to resume before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Gazzali also pleaded with the supreme court to reject Kanu’s cross-appeal.
The Court of Appeal Abuja issued a ruling on October 13, 2022, directing Kanu’s release from custody.
According to the court, he was kidnapped, mistreated, and “illegally moved” from Kenya to Nigeria in order to stand trial for treason and acts of terrorism.
Although the criminal case was dismissed by the judges, Kanu, who is in his mid-50s, is still being held by Nigerian prosecutors following their appeal.
After being detained for the first time in 2015, Kanu—a former estate agent from London who also operates the illegal Radio Biafra station—jumped bail two years later and made a reappearance in Israel and the UK.
Due to its claims of Igbo genocide, IPOB is accused of inciting ethnic tensions and has been outlawed by the Nigerian government as a terrorist organisation.
