The Supreme Court has fixed December 15 for its verdict on the appeals filed by the Federal Government and the imprisoned leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Federal Government Counsel Tijani Gazali (SAN) and Kanu Attorney Mike Ozekhome (SAN) submitted their closing arguments and the court decided to set a date for Thursday, October 5, 2023.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the treason charge against Kanu and ordered his release on the grounds that he was illegally sent back to the country after skipping bail. The federal government is now asking the court to overturn that decision.
For his part, Kanu asked the court to uphold the decision of the Court of Appeal and set aside the subsequent order upholding the execution of the judgment.
Recall that on October 13, 2022, the Abuja Court of Appeal ordered the release of Kanu in accordance with the judgment delivered by the court.
The Court of Appeal also quashed 15 terrorism charges brought by the FG against the detained IPOB leader at the Federal High Court, Abuja, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel.
The court said it was satisfied that when the FG forced the extradition of Kanu from Kenya to this country for further trial, he had acted in flagrant violation of all known laws.
It was decided that the trial court did not have jurisdiction to proceed with Kanu’s trial due to the arbitrary use of power by the Nigerian government.
But FG appealed the case to the Supreme Court because it was dissatisfied with the decision.
Furthermore, he also convinced the appellate court to suspend the execution of the sentence pending the outcome of his appeal.