Aloy Ejimakor, the Special Counsel to Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has outlined the upcoming legal strategy following the recent Supreme Court ruling.
After the Supreme Court declined to order Kanu’s release, Ejimakor informed the press that Kanu’s legal team intends to file a bail application for the IPOB leader at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The Supreme Court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim but written by Justice Garba Lawal, overturned the Appeal Court’s ruling that acquitted Kanu of terrorism charges in October 2022.
Justice Lawal emphasized that despite the Nigerian government’s contentious and illegal extradition of Kanu from Kenya, it does not preclude the courts from proceeding with the trial. He noted that the ongoing legal remedy should involve Kanu filing a civil matter against the abduction rather than obstructing the courts’ authority to continue the trial on criminal charges.
Consequently, the Supreme Court directed Kanu to defend himself against the remaining seven counts of terrorism charges at the Federal High Court.
Reacting to the proceedings, Ejimakor said he was expecting the apex court to affirm the ruling of the Appeal Court.
According to Ejimakor: “I had high hopes that, based on the law of extradition, the Supreme Court should have affirmed the discharge order made by the Court of Appeal.
“Yes! First, we shall proceed with apace bail application to reinstate his bail in line with the ruling of the Supreme Court.”
Ejimakor also expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling of the Supreme Court on Kanu’s extraordinary rendition from Kenya.
He said: “I am not satisfied with the Supreme Court’s discountenance of the extraordinary rendition, because it does not comport with the doctrine of fair hearing.
“The Supreme Court justified its position on the theory that our jurisprudence has not developed to the point of recognizing extraordinary rendition as a barrier to prosecution. That is so wrong because it implies that Nigerian jurisprudence is primitive, behind the times and retrograde.”
