The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory on Thursday upheld the appeal of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.
The court also discharged and acquitted the embattled IPOB leader.
The Appeal Court, while setting the IPOB leader free, accused the Federal Government of engaging in “Executive recklessness”.
It held that Federal Government flagrantly violated all known laws and extradition treaties in the way the IPOB leader was extra-ordinarily rendered back to Nigeria from Kenya, adding that there was no express denial in Federal Government’s counter affidavit that it forcefully abducted Kanu from Kenya.
Though trial Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja earlier suspended Kanu’s trial till November 11, the appellate court held that there was no need for such proceeding, stressing that FG’s lawless action has stripped the trial court of its jurisdiction.
While Justice Jummai Sankey led the three-man panel of the appellate court, Justice Oludotun Adetope-Okojie delivered the lead judgement.
It will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had on various occasions, spurned plea for Kanu to be released from detention through a political solution.
He had insisted that the court should be allowed to take the decision.
The United Nations had recently asked Nigeria to release the IPOB leader from detention and to punish all those involved in his extra-ordinary rendition from Kenya.
