Ahead of the December 15, 2023 date set by the Supreme Court to deliver its judgment on Nnamdi Kanu’s treason and terrorism charges, one of Kanu’s lawyers, Alloy Ejimakor, has urged President Bola Tinubu to release his client, alleging that former President Muhammadu Buhari detained Kanu based on tribalism.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader has been in detention for years over issues bordering on self-determination.
His court case with the federal government has dragged on since 2015.
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On October 13, 2022, the Court of Appeal quashed all charges against Kanu, agreeing with the submissions of his lead counsel, Mike Ozekhome SAN.
The court held that Kanu’s rendition from Kenya to Nigeria was illegal and that the federal government could no longer try him on the charges he was facing before his rendition.
However, the federal government appealed the judgment and obtained a stay of execution order from the Court of Appeal.
Kanu’s legal team is asking the Supreme Court to set aside the stay of execution order and free him.
In a tweet, Ejimakor said the federal government should not validate Kanu’s detention.
He wrote: “Buhari’s detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was not based on law but on the politics of tribalism that has dogged Nigeria since time. Tinubu (@officialABAT) shouldn’t validate it. #FreeMNK.”