IPOB: Kanu Trial An ‘Unconstitutional Abomination’, Says American Veterans Group

The American Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID) has described the ongoing trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, as “a constitutional abomination” and demanded his immediate and unconditional release ahead of the expected judgment on November 20.

The group in a statement signed by its President, Dr. Sylvester Onyia, AVID said no valid charge is currently before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, insisting that the case had been “legally dead for years”.

The group said Count 7 of the charges against Kanu is identical to Count 15, which the Supreme Court struck out on December 15, 2023. According to AVID, the apex court had declared that “the offence as laid does not exist in the body of our laws,” but the prosecution allegedly failed to amend or reframe the count under the appropriate law as directed.

“Instead, they simply renumbered the corpse and, on 29 March 2025, forced Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to take a fresh plea to a count that the highest court in the land had already buried,” the group said.

AVID further argued that the other six counts were framed under the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011, as amended in 2013, which was repealed and replaced by the National Assembly in May 2022.

“No court in Nigeria in 2025 has jurisdiction to try any citizen, under any circumstances, on the strength of a repealed law or a count the Supreme Court has declared non-existent,” the statement read.

The group maintained that Section 36(12) of the 1999 Constitution requires that no person be tried for an offence not defined in a written law.

“A repealed law is not in force. A count declared non-existent by the Supreme Court is not a charge. A man detained for years on such a charge is a hostage, not an accused person,” AVID stated.

The group also accused the United Kingdom of silence over the treatment of its citizen (Nnamdi Kanu), arguing that the UK had historically defined the legal doctrine now being violated.

“This silence is no longer ignorance. It is no longer negligence. It is an endorsement — a diplomatic green light for persecution,” the group alleged.

AVID referenced long-established British legal principles, citing Lord Camden, William Blackstone, A.V. Dicey, and Lord Bingham to argue that criminal offences must be clearly defined in law before prosecution can proceed.

The group demanded that charges against the IPOB leader be struck out entirely.

“There is no valid charge before Justice Omotosho. There is therefore no lawful basis for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s continued detention,” the group said.

“Anything less is not justice. The world is watching. History is recording.”

Kanu’s case is expected to come up before the Federal High Court on November 20.