A Court of Appeal has discharged and acquitted the embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), clearing him of all charges.
Kanu had in his appeal dated April 29 and marked CA/ABJ/CR/625/2022 applied to be discharged and acquitted. Kanu was first arraigned on December 23, 2015, and was later granted bail on April 25, 2017.
On Thursday, the Court of Appeal declared the Kidnapping of Nnamdi from Kenya to Nigeria unlawful and illegal and quashed the entire terrorism charges brought against him by the Federal Government.
The Appeal Court in a judgment by Justice Oludotun Adebola voided and set aside the charges by the Federal Government against Nnamdi.
The Court declared that the Federal Government breached all local and international laws in the forceful rendition of Kanu to Nigeria thereby making the terrorism charges against him incompetent and unlawful.
On April 8, 2022, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court struck out eight of the 15 counts slapped on Nnamdi Kanu by the Federal Government.
The charges that were struck out below are as follows:
Count 6: Made broadcasts to attack officers of the Nigeria Police Force;
Count 7: Made broadcasts in which he incited members of the public to hunt and attack officers of the Nigerian Police Force.
Court 8: Made broadcasts in which he directed members of the IPOB to manufacture bombs;
Court 9: Made broadcasts on diverse dates in furtherance of terrorism against the Nigeria state and with intent to destabilise the fundamental political and economic structures of Nigeria, incited members of the public to stop the Anambra governorship election.
Count 10: Incited members of the public to destroy public facilities. Count 11: Threatened members of the public not to come out on 31st May 2021.
Count 12: Made broadcasts with the intention to incite members of the public to stage a violent revolution in furtherance of acts of terrorism;
Count 14: Directed members of the public to destroy the public transport system in Lagos, resulting in major economic loss to the governor.
Reacting to the judgment, Kanu’s lawyer and human rights activist, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, on his Facebook page on Thursday, said Kanu won at last.
