Nnamdi Kanu free as Appeal court discharge and acquits him, strikes out case by FG

• Nnamdi Kanu freed by appeal court.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has set Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) free of the treasonable felony charges preferred against him by the Federal Government.

The three-member panel of Justices of the Appellate Court, in a judgement delivered on Thursday, set aside the judgement of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which quashed 8 out of 15 counts charge against Kanu.

The appellate court agreed with counsel to the IPOB leader, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) that, Kanu was illegally abducted and extra-ordinarily renditioned from Kenya to Nigeria, against both, International and local lows.

“By the illegal abduction and extra- ordinary rendition of the appellant, there was a clear violation of the respondent to International treaties, conventions, as well as the African Charter on Human and Peoples Right”, the court held.

The panel also held that the trial court lack jurisdiction to handle the charges against Kanu, as he was not properly arraigned before the court.

The panel, presided by Justice Jummai Hanatu, also held that the offences Kanu was alleged to have been committed happened in Kenya and not in Nigeria.

JusticeNyako had said, in her judgement that counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, and 15 showed some allegations, which the IPOB leader had to answer.

But Kanu, through his team of lawyers led by Mike Ozekhome (SAN), filed an appeal marked CA/ABJ/CR/625/2022, praying the court to quash the remaining seven counts for being devoid of merit.