Kanu ‘Discharged, Not Acquitted’: Malami ‘In Disconnect With Law’ – Ejiofor

By Adadainfo

Barr Ifeanyi Ejiofor, counsel to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Friday, said the stance of the attorney general of the federation and minister of jus­tice, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, that the judgement of the Appeal Court discharging the IPOB leader does not mean acquittal means he (Malami) is ‘in total disconnect with the law’.

Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, was discharged of treason charges by the appellate court, citing the illegitimacy of his rendition from Kenya to Nigeria last year.

Malami had in a statement said the FG would explore other legal means to try Kanu, adding that Kanu was only discharged in the rendition suit.

Ejiofor, in a reaction during a media programme, said, “For the avoidance of doubt, the Federal Government has no options. It has only one op­tion, namely, to appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court.

“And the exercise of this latter option shall not constitute a bar to immediate compliance with the order of the Court of Appeal which directed for the immediate and uncondi­tional release of Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

“The order made by the Jus­tices of the Court of Appeal is sacrosanct and must be obeyed immediately without further ado. The attorney general of the federation’s reference to the charge pending against Onyendu before he left Nigeria in 2017, and the indication that the federal government may continue with the charge really shows his total disconnect with the law, with the greatest respect to his office.

“It is to be noted that the re­maining seven count charge that was struck out by the Court of Appeal after it allowed the appeal on the ground that the Federal High Court has no jurisdiction to try Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is the same charge (with the same charge Number—to wit: FRN VS NNAMDI KANU, CHARGE NO: FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015) that has been pending against Onyendu MAZI NNAMDI Kanu at the Fed­eral High Court since 2015.

“The prosecution has amend­ed this charge about seven times. It is the same charge that was amend­ed to include other counts that brought the counts to seven, and then to 15.

“The Federal High Court struck out eight counts and retained seven. On appeal, the Court of Appeal struck out the whole charge and held that the lower court had no jurisdiction to try Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

“That being so, that charge that has been pending against MNK since 2015 and containing counts of alleged offences com­mitted by him before he escaped from being killed in Nigeria in 2017, no longer exists. It has been struck out.

“There is therefore no existing charge on the basis of which the Federal High Court can proceed and try Onyendu.

“Accordingly, as it stands to­day, there is no criminal charge pending against Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.”