Kanu acquitted by Appeal Court

The arrested leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, had his appeal accepted by the Court of Appeal on Thursday in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

Additionally, the court freed and exonerated the troubled group’s leader.

Kanu requested release and acquittal in his appeal, which was dated April 29 and was designated CA/ABJ/CR/625/2022. Kanu was initially charged on December 23, 2015, and on April 25, 2017, he was released on bail.

However, the Court of Appeal threw out the entire set of terrorism-related accusations that the Federal Government had brought against Kanu and declared on Thursday that his kidnapping from Kenya to Nigeria was illegal and illegitimate.

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.

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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.

Reacting to the judgment, the IPOB leader’s lawyer and human rights activist, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, on his Facebook page on Thursday, said he won at last.

“Appeal allowed, Oyendu Mazi Nnamdi KANU, discharged and acquitted. We have won!,” he wrote.