Nnamdi Kanu has vowed not to present himself before any unconstitutional Judge for trial ever again.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has accused both the executive and judiciary of orchestrating fraud against him since his extraordinary rendition in 2021.
In an open letter personally signed by him, Kanu has declared that he will no longer subject himself to trial before any judge or court that lacks constitutional jurisdiction.
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He stated: “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.
“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.”
Kanu detailed his legal struggles over the years, expressing concern over what he described as executive and judicial manipulation against him since his forced return to Nigeria.
He referenced a ruling from March 1, 2017, by the Federal High Court in Abuja, which stated that “IPOB is not an unlawful group…”
He criticized the Federal Government for not appealing the ruling through legal means but instead obtaining an ex parte order to proscribe IPOB as a terrorist organization without notifying him or the group.
“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 life and liberty of millions who identify with IPOB,” he stated.
Kanu further referenced an October 26, 2022, Federal High Court ruling that declared his extraordinary rendition and detention unconstitutional. The court stated that his “manner of arrest and detention in Kenya, his continued detention in Abuja, his subjection to physical and mental trauma, and the inhuman and degrading treatment meted out to him amount to a brazen violation of his fundamental right to dignity of his person and threat to life under Section 34 (1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution.” The court also ordered the Federal Government to apologize to him and pay compensation.
He noted that “in a responsible society and well-ordered, 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.”
Additionally, he cited the October 13, 2022, Court of Appeal ruling, which held that “the courts must never shy away from calling the executive to order when they resort to acts of executive lawlessness.” The ruling further asserted that due to his “forcible abduction and extraordinary rendition from Kenya to Nigeria on June 27, 2021, in violation of international and state laws, no court in Nigeria has jurisdiction to entertain charges against him.”
Despite these rulings, Kanu lamented that the Federal Government refused to release him, instead working behind closed doors to reverse the appellate court’s decision through what he described as “a fraudulent 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,” he stated.
He also recalled that, on September 24, 2023, he requested the judge handling his case to recuse herself due to concerns over bias. However, rather than appealing the judge’s decision, he claimed that the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court instead ordered the same judge to continue hearing the case, despite lacking jurisdiction.
Reaffirming his stance, Kanu insisted that he would rather remain in detention indefinitely than submit to a trial before what he perceives as an illegitimate court.