Eshiorameh Sebastian in Abuja
From the Sokoto Medium Security Prison, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has declared his conviction legally baseless and asserted his lifelong stance against injustice.
The message was conveyed by his younger brother, Emmanuel Kanu and one of his lawyers, Maxwell Opara, following a meeting with with Kanu.
Kanu declared the legal process against him invalid, stating through his representatives that โhis conviction was without legal basis, as no individual can be convicted under a repealed law.โ
He further elaborated on this fundamental legal contention, pointing to what he described as a troubling inconsistency in judicial rulings.
He questioned the “disparity between the favorable rulings in Umuahia High Court, Enugu, Appeal Court, United Nations, and Supreme Court, which stated that the laws under which he was charged are repealed and must be amended, yet were ignored,โ the representatives relayed.
Upon his own review of the judgment, Kanu said he identified numerous errors that he asserted compromise the trial’s integrity.
A primary concern raised was the denial of a core procedural right, as โhis final written address which anchored on fair hearing was also denied.โ
He further asserted that โthe evidence relied upon by the court was not included in the charge sheet or presented as evidence against him,โ and flagged the โcourt’s reliance on struck-out charges from Justice Binta Nyakoโ as a significant judicial flaw.
The IPOB leader send a passionate plea to the Nigerian judiciary, urging โwell-meaning Nigerian justices, magistrates, and lawyers to carefully examine the judgment and uphold the laws of the land and the Nigerian Constitution.โ
He commended people of conscience who have acknowledged the perceived injustice, framing his situation as a universal cause. โI am Mazi Nnamdi Kanu who will reject injustice, unfairness, and evil against anybody regardless of your tribe, faith, and ethnic background. Injustice to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is injustice everywhere,โ he declared.
Expressing appreciation for the public’s solidarity, he concluded, โI remain thankful for all your supports, prayers, and your good thoughts. Elohim, bless you all he said.โ
Spear News reports that the core of the legal dispute following Nnamdi Kanu’s conviction on terrorism charges, revolves around a fundamental disagreement on the validity of the law applied.
Justice James Omotosho, in his ruling, found the prosecution had proved its terrorism case against Kanu beyond a reasonable doubt and subsequently sentenced him and law was still in force when he committed the crimes he was accused of.
However, Kanu’s defense team and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have vehemently rejected this judgment, labeling it a “legal impossibility” and “void for want of jurisdiction.” Their central argument is that the conviction is invalid because it was based on the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act 2013, which they assert had been expressly repealed and replaced by the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.
They contend that a person cannot be convicted under a “dead law” that is no longer in force, citing Section 36(12) of the Nigerian Constitution, which requires that an offense must be defined and punishable under a written law in force at the time it was committed. In light of this, they have publicly demanded that Justice Omotosho explain the specific law he used to convict Kanu, standing by their position that the applicable law had been repealed and the conviction is therefore illegitimate.
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