By Olusegun Olanrewaju and Deborah Onyofufeke
Despite appeal court ruling on Nnamdi Kanu, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader was only acquitted and not discharged.
His reaction came hours after the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory yesterday upheld the appeal of Kanu.
Kanu had in his appeal dated April 29 and marked CA/ABJ/CR/625/2022 applied to be discharged and acquitted. Kanu was first arraigned on December 23, 2015, and was later granted bail on April 25, 2017.
However, the Court of Appeal declared as illegal and unlawful, the abduction of Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria and quashed the entire terrorism charges brought against him by the Federal Government.
The Appellate Court held that the Federal Government breached all local and international laws in the forceful rendition of Kanu to Nigeria thereby making the terrorism charges against him incompetent and unlawful.
The Appeal Court in a judgment by Justice Oludotun Adebola voided and set aside the charges by the Federal Government against Kanu.
The Appellate Court proceeded to discharge Kanu from the alleged offences.
Justice Adebola held that failure of Nigeria to follow due process by way of Extradition was fatal to the charges against Kanu.
The Appeal Court further held that the failure of the Federal Government to disclose where and when the alleged offences were committed was also fatal to the terrorism charges and made them liable to dismissal.
However, Malami, in a statement made available to newsmen yesterday night, by Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, the Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, to the AGF, stated that the Appeal Court only discharged the IPOB leader and did not acquit him.
The statement further added that, consequently, the appropriate legal options before the authorities will be exploited and communicated accordingly to the public.
The statement read “The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has received the news of the decision of the Court of Appeal concerning the trial of Nnamdi Kanu. For the avoidance of doubt and by the verdict of the Court, Kanu was only discharged and not acquitted.
“The decision handed down by the court of appeal was on a single issue that borders on rendition.
“Let it be made clear to the general public that other issues that predate rendition based on which Kanu jumped bail remain valid issues for judicial determination.
“The Federal Government will consider all available options open to us on the judgment on rendition while pursuing determination of pre-rendition issues”.
*Acquittal too complex for human understanding- Ozekhome
Reacting to the acquittal, the lead counsel for Kanu, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), said the judgement is too complex for human understanding.
Ozekhome, who spoke shortly after the ruling in Abuja which discharged and acquitted Kanu on all seven counts bordering on terrorism brought against him (Kanu) by the Federal Government, said, “The lower court glossed over the case placed before it on the kidnap, torture and extraordinary rendition of Kanu from Kenya back to Nigeria, but the Appellate Court discharged him.”
He spoke after praying, thanking “Jesus for getting Nnamdi Kanu out” on his knees together with his team of lawyers.
He said, “Kanu’s release by the Court of Appeal was “one of those things that you can say (are) ineffable, indescribable, it is only God that can fathom it, because its depth and breadth, its plenitude and amplitude are too wide, too complex for any human understanding.
“Nnamdi Kanu was today discharged of all the remaining seven charges, which…were retained by the Federal High Court. Kidnap, torture, and extraordinary rendition of Nnamdi Kanu from Kenya back to Nigeria on the 26th of June, 2021, the lower court glossed over it…”
Meanwhile, spontaneous celebrations, hugging bodies, honking horns, and wild jubilation, yesterday trailed the release of Kanu.
Observers say that marked icing on the cake for the ultra-radical secessionist leader who was hijacked by security forces in far-away Kenya and slammed behind bars for months without trial in the custody of federal secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS).
*Don’t appeal ruling, Ohanaeze urges FG
Meanwhile, in its reaction, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has appealed to the Federal Government not to appeal Kanu’s victory, saying the release only signified the ‘fact’ that is time for the authorities to dialogue with the breakaway agitator.
In a statement by its Secretary-General, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, Ohanaeze appealed to the Federal Government ‘to resist the temptation’ of appealing the appellate court’s verdict on the legality associated with the abduction of Kanu from Kenya, and ‘illegitimate extradition to Nigeria’.
“The Federal Government should be mature enough to know that the Kanu’s victory is no victor, no vanquished status quo.
“The best way for the Federal Government to reconcile with Biafra agitators should be through dialogue. They will kick off the process of reconciliation by not appealing to the Kanu’s victory over the Federal Government,” Ohanaeze said.
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It added, “This should be the guaranteed offer for IPoB to dialogue with the Federal Government. This is the rarest chance in history to end insecurity challenges in the South-East”.
Ohanaeze said it was also advising the government to extend the hands of fellowship to other southern agitators, in line with President Buhari’s commitment to ending insecurity and handing over a more united Nigeria in 2023.
“Dialogue should be the next phase, and as to options for the Federal Government to achieve peace in the South-East, Igbo leaders are ready to accompany Kanu to Buhari for genuine dialogue. It is up to the Federal Government to do the needful,” the statement concluded
*Jubilation in S’ East over acquittal
Following the judgment, parts of Anambra State such as Amawbia and UNIZIK junction in the state capital, Awka, witnessed wild jubilation among residents of the area.
The news of the IPoB leader’s discharge electrified everywhere, in a manner reminiscent of the release of the former Biafran warlord, the late Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s welcome back home from exile, after his pardon for his role in the Nigerian Civil War, ahead of the 1983 general elections.
At a motor park at UNIZIK junction, Awka, some motor park operators and drivers were seen jubilating and celebrating with alcoholic beverages over the news.
A ‘celebrant, who identified himself as Jumbo, was overheard saying: “there can be no better news than this. Welcome home, Onyendu, Mazi. You are a true son of your land.”
An online medium also quotes a witness as saying, amid ecstasy, “This Nnamdi Kanu has rubbished Nigerian government. He is teaching them a lesson. All the things he said about Nigeria have come to pass, he has proven that he knows what he is doing.
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“Upon all the things the Nigerian government has done to keep him trapped, he has been defeating them all. Maybe now we can have peace in Igbo land.”
The same scenario resonated in other states in the South-East zone – Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, and Imo states, where residents trooped out in celebrations of joy.
Residents were seen in clusters discussing happily cheering news that would de-escalate tension in the entire region.
All these followed the ruling of the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, which earlier in the day upheld the appeal of the detained IPoB leader.
