The embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has accused the Nigerian government and judiciary of orchestrating a series of executive and judicial frauds against him since his extraordinary rendition from Kenya in 2021.
In an open letter addressed to Nigerians, Kanu detailed what he described as a deliberate effort to deny him justice and suppress the self-determination movement he leads.
Kanu recalled that on March 1, 2017, the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled that “IPOB is not an unlawful group”, a judgment that, according to him, received widespread publicity and remains verifiable.
“This landmark ruling (made by the court before it turned unjust) emanated in criminal proceedings that required ‘proof beyond reasonable doubt’ and in which the federal government and my humble self presented our respective cases,” he said.
He alleged that instead of appealing the judgment, as required by law, the former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, secured a proscription order against IPOB in a secret process.
“Alas! Instead of the federal government going 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 proceedings that conducted without notice to me or to the IPOB,” he stated.
He described this action as “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.”
Kanu further referenced an October 26, 2022 ruling by a Federal High Court, which declared his extraordinary rendition and continued detention unconstitutional. The court stated:
“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 ordered the federal government to apologise to him and pay compensation, a directive that Kanu argued should have led to his immediate release and engagement in dialogue over the self-determination agitation.
“In a responsible society and well-ordered, run by a responsible government, this judgment is sufficient to have ended my lengthy detention and encourage the federal government to constructively engage me on the issue of the self-determination agitation that triggered this whole saga,” he said.
Kanu also cited an October 13, 2022 ruling by the Court of Appeal, which condemned the executive’s disregard for the rule of law.
“The courts must never shy away from calling the executive to order when they resort to acts of ‘executive lawlessness.’
“The courts must 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 this ruling, Kanu lamented that the federal government refused to release him, instead securing a controversial stay of execution from another panel of justices.
“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’,” he wrote.
He questioned the legitimacy of a stay of execution on a judgment that the government had already disobeyed.
“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 an order is obeyed.
“This is a sound reasoning that applies to everybody but is fraudulently overlooked when it comes to my case,” he said.
Kanu also addressed the December 15, 2023 Supreme Court ruling, which referred his case back to the Federal High Court for trial. He noted that while the court did not dismiss the case, it also ruled that his bail should not have been revoked and accused the trial judge of “significant and unacceptable bias” in revoking it.
“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,” Kanu alleged.
The IPOB leader explained that on September 24, 2024, he lost faith in receiving justice from a judge who had previously detained him in secret police custody, refused to transfer him to prison, denied him bail restoration, and insisted on an accelerated trial.
“These are the major reasons that compelled me to request recusal of the judge and having consented to it, she proceeded to make an order removing herself from my case. That order was never challenged on appeal; thus, it remains extant to this day,” he said.
He accused the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court of conniving with the government to return his case to the same judge who had already recused herself.
“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 who are deemed to be committed to doing justice, even when it means that the federal government must lose.”
Kanu reiterated his resolve not to submit to any judicial process that, in his view, lacked legitimacy.
“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.”
