Dec 15: Nigeria’s Supreme Court Renders Decision on Kanu’s Fate
The Supreme Court has set a date of December 15, 2023 to deliver its judgment on the appeal filed by the federal government against the Court of Appeal’s decision to dismiss the criminal charges against Nnamdi Kanu and order his release.
Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun fixed the date after hearing arguments from Kanu’s lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, and Tijani Gazali, SAN, who represented the federal government.
In presenting its case, the federal government appealed to the Apex Court to overturn the Court of Appeal’s judgment that dismissed the charges against Kanu and ordered his release.
Gazali specifically requested that the judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which upheld seven count charges against Kanu, be affirmed so that Kanu can stand trial on those charges.
However, Ozekhome argued against the federal government, stating that Kanu has been unlawfully detained since June 29, 2021.
The senior lawyer pleaded for the Court of Appeal’s judgment to be upheld, which dismissed all charges against Kanu and ordered his immediate release.
Ozekhome reiterated that Kanu’s continued detention by the federal government is illegal in light of the Court of Appeal’s judgment, which ordered his immediate release.
Ozekhome argued that no government has the power to violate the fundamental rights of citizens, as in the case of Kanu.
He urged the Supreme Court to uphold the Court of Appeal’s judgment and order Kanu’s immediate release.
On October 13, 2022, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, dismissed the remaining seven count criminal charges against Kanu brought by the federal government at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Not satisfied with the Court of Appeal’s judgment, the federal government took the case to the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the findings of the Court of Appeal and resume the trial of Kanu on charges of treasonable felony at the Federal High Court.
