The Nigerian Federal Government has filed an appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal at the Supreme Court, challenging the recent Court of Appeal judgment freeing Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Ifeanyi Ejiofor, a lawyer to Kanu confirmed that he had received the court filings on the appeal through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Ministry of Justice.
In an interview yesterday, Kanu’s lead counsel said that Mike Ozekhome, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), received a copy of the court documents on the appeal at 5 p.m on Wednesday.
It was learnt that the government contended in its notice of appeal that the Court of Appeal was wrong to have faulted Kanu’s extraordinary rendition to Nigeria and gone ahead to strike out the charges against him on that basis. It also argued the court erred when it struck out the pending terrorism charge against the IPOB leader.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja, had on October 13, struck out the terrorism charges filed against Kanu by the government. It held that the IPOB leader was “extraordinarily renditioned” to Nigeria in flagrant violation of the country’s extradition treaty and Mr Kanu’s fundamental human rights.
The court ordered the release of Kanu from the custody of the State Security Service (SSS), where he has been detained since he was brought back to Nigeria in June last year.
But the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and his counterpart at the Ministry of Police Affairs, Muhammad Dingyadi, argued the Court of Appeal only discharged Kanu and did not acquit him.
Source: Premium Times
