The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Monday raised concerns over the alleged disappearance of the case file of its leader Nnamdi Kanu at Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja.
The group described as “beyond a joke” an alleged statement by the presiding judge handling the case at the Court that Kanu’s case was missing/misplaced.
In a statement by Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, IPOB said:
“When we thought the judiciary and legal establishment could not sink any lower in Nigeria, the impossible has happened. Court of Appeal judges today sitting in Abuja have declared the file of the leader of IPOB missing/misplaced. It is unheard of in the history of the Nigerian judiciary that a matter coming up for final judgement almost a year after the appellate court jury adjourned the matter, having heard all the arguments”.
“Not only is the delay by the Appeal Court illegal and unconstitutional, the conduct of those that heard and handled this very case is troubling. We no longer know what to make of the Nigerian judicial system. This is beyond a joke. The only thing missing from today’s court hearing is the proverbial snake because it wasn’t confirmed if the case file had been swallowed by yet another snake at the Appeal Court.”
The statement further reads:
“We are drawing the attention of the civilized world to the mess the Nigerian judiciary, terrorised by a brutal dictatorial regime, has turned into. Instead of delivering judgement for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the judiciary would rather break every constitutional provision guiding the timeline in cases at the Appeal Court.”
“This matter is one year overdue because the Nigerian constitution, which judges are meant to interprete and uphold, clearly stipulates that all Appeal Court judgements MUST be delivered within three months. It is up to a year without any judgement on this matter contrary to constitutional provision.”
“The Chief Justice of the Federation must step into this matter before the already tarnished image of the judiciary suffers even more before the eyes of the world.”
Nnamdi Kanu was in court to challenge the ruling of Justice John Tsoho when he reversed a ruling he gave on masking of witnesses in the treasonable felony trial of the IPOB leader and three others.
