𝐈’ll Not Succumb To Trial By A Judge Without Constitutional Muster – Nnamdi Kanu

The leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu on Saturday declared that he would not succumb to any trial conducted by any judge or court whose jurisdiction does not pass constitutional muster.

He therefore vowed that he is prepared to remain in detention all his life until a proper and an impartial judge is assigned to handle his matter.

Kanu alleged that there were serial executive and judicial frauds being perpetrated against him since 2021 when he was extraordinarily renditioned, adding that that his matter was deliberately being shielded from judges and justices who can deliver impartial judgments that may lead to the Federal Government losing in court.

Kanu, who has been detention since 2021 when he was subjected to extraordinary rendition from Kenya to Nigeria, is currently facing trial over terrorism-related charges before Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Since his return to Nigeria, the Appeal Court in Abuja had discharged and acquitted him of all charges against him, but in spite of the ruling, the federal government has refused to grant him freedom.

However, there has been some back and forth with Justice Nyako over the handling of his matter.

Specifically, in 2024, Kanu challenged Nyako to step down from his trial, saying that he had no confidence in her judgment.

As a result, Justice Nyako recused herself, but the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho insisted that she should continue with the matter.

In a dramatic move last week, Justice Nyako adjourned the matter indefinitely following the insistence of Kanu that he was no longer ready to stand trial in her court.

In an open letter personally signed by Kanu, he said; “I have been compelled by the events of the past few days to take the unusual step of writing this Open Letter for the singular purpose of calling the attention of the general public to the serial executive and judicial fraud being perpetrated against me since my extraordinary rendition in 2021.

“The details are as follows: In a judgment entered on 1st March 2017, the Federal High Court Abuja ruled that the ‘IPOB is not an unlawful group.’ At the time, it received widespread publicity which can be verified. This landmark ruling (made by the court before it turned unjust) emanated in a criminal proceeding that required ‘proof beyond reasonable doubt’ and in which the Federal Government and my humble self presented our respective cases.

“Alas! Instead of the Federal Government to go on appeal as the law mandated (if they are dissatisfied with the judgment), the former Attorney-General (Abubakar Malami) went behind closed doors with a letter signed by late Abba Kyari and got IPOB proscribed/tagged a terrorist group in an ex parte proceeding conducted without notice to me or to the IPOB. “This abominable incident was the earliest sign yet that the government and its judiciary have struck an unholy and fraudulent alliance to deny me my rights and thereby imperil the lives and liberty of millions who identify with IPOB.

“On 26th October 2022, a Federal High Court declared my extraordinary rendition and detention as unconstitutional, stating that: ‘the manner of arrest and detention of the Applicant (Mazi Nnamdi Kanu) in Kenya, his continued detention in Abuja, his subjection to physical and mental trauma by the Respondents, the inhuman and degrading treatment meted out to the Applicant amounts to a brazen violation of the Applicant’s fundamental right to dignity of his person and threat to life under Section 34 (1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).’ “The Court further ordered the Federal Government to apologize to me and pay me compensation. In a responsible and well-ordered society, run by a responsible government, this judgment is sufficient to have ended my lengthy detention and encouraged the Federal Government to constructively engage me on the issue of the self-determination agitation that triggered this whole saga.

“Pedal back to 13th October 2022 when the Court of Appeal held that: ‘The Courts must never shy away from calling the executive to order when they resort to acts of “executive lawlessness.”

“The duty of the Courts is to maintain a balance between ensuring that law and order is obeyed and the protection of the individual from oppressive actions by the executive. By the forcible abduction and extraordinary rendition of the Appellant (Mazi Nnamdi Kanu) from Kenya to this country on the 27th day of June 2021, in violation of international and state laws, the lower Court or indeed any Court in this country is divested of jurisdiction to entertain charges against the Appellant.’

“Despite the clarity of this judgment and its comportment with reason, the Federal Government refused to release me from detention while it went behind closed doors and connived with three other justices of the Court of Appeal who fraudulently and swiftly sat on appeal over the judgment and practically destroyed it by issuing what they termed ‘a stay of execution.’

“One may then ask: Is it not abominable for a court to stay a judgment the government already disobeyed? In a plethora of cases, the Supreme Court has held that anybody who disobeys a related court order cannot be given any judicial relief until such order is obeyed. This is sound reasoning that applies to everybody but is fraudulently overlooked when it comes to my case.

“Fast forward to 15th December 2023 when the Supreme Court sent back my case to the Federal High Court for trial. For avoidance of doubt, that was not the only decision the Supreme Court made. It also decided that my bail should not have been revoked and it went on to state clearly that the judge exhibited significant and unacceptable bias by revoking my bail.

“In a sane society, one would expect that when the High Court received my case from the Supreme Court and hankered down for trial, it was also duty-bound to restore my bail in line with the pronouncement of the apex court. But that did not happen. Why? Well, your guess is as good as mine and that is: the Court connived with the Federal Government to continue my detention in violation of Section 287 of the Nigerian Constitution while they plotted to railroad me through an unfair trial that already has a predetermined verdict.

“To conclude this Open Letter, let me make it clear that it should in no way be construed to mean that there are no decent judges in Nigeria that can be trusted to deliver even-handed justice in my case. That is not the issue.

“Instead, the issue is that my case is deliberately being shielded from judges and justices that are deemed to be committed to doing justice even when it means that the Federal Government must lose.

“Be that as it may, if it will take the rest of my life in detention to produce me before a proper and impartial court, so be it. But let me say this for the world to know: I will not succumb to any trial conducted by any judge or court whose jurisdiction does not pass constitutional muster. Not now, not ever,” Kanu said.