Former US envoy warns Nigeria against flouting court order on Nnamdi Kanu's release

FORMER US ambassador to Nigeria John Campbell has warned the federal government against flouting the Appeal Court judgement which discharged and acquitted Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) leader Nnamdi Kanu.

Last Thursday, Nigeria's Court of Appeal declared Nnamdi Kanu's detention illegal and unlawful and quashed the terrorism charges brought against him by the federal government. In a judgment delivered by Justice Oludotun Adefope-Okojie, the criminal charges by the federal government against Mr Kanu were thus voided and set aside.

According to the court, the federal government, having flagrantly breached the fundamental rights of Mr Kanu, lost the legal right to put him on trial. Also, the court held that laws are meant to be obeyed and that the federal government has no reason to have taken laws into her own hand in the illegal and unlawful way the matter of Mr Kanu was handled.

However, Abubakar Malami, Nigeria's attorney-general, has hinted that the federal government will not release Mr Kanu but would rather file fresh charges against him. He added that Mr Kanu was only discharged and not acquitted and the federal government will consider all available options on the judgment on rendition while pursuing determination of pre-rendition issues.

In response, Mr Campbell has cautioned the Nigerian authorities against the far-reaching implications of flouting the court judgement. He noted that Nigeria misfired by embarking on the extraordinary rendition of Mr Kanu from Kenya last year, cautioning that the country cannot afford any more mishandling of the matter.

Mr Campbell added that the safety and security of the nation depend largely on the outcome of Kanu’s matter. Aloy Ejimakor, Mr Kanu's lawyer, also said that Nigeria should not set a bad precedent as a country of lawlessness by not complying with the order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

He said: "The extraordinary rendition was the second. Putting Kanu on trial was the third, disobeying the United Nations was the fourth and the likelihood of disobeying the judgment of the Court of Appeal will be the fifth."

“I am calling on Nigerians of means and influence and the international community to intervene in persuading President Muhammadu Buhari to promptly comply with the court order which discharged Kanu from all the criminal charges pending against him. President Buhari had on two occasions promised to obey any court order that bears on the release of Kanu and a promise of this sort is a debt."

Similarly, Mr Kanu’s family, has reminded President Buhari of his promise to a delegation of Igbo leaders that he would abide by the pronouncements of the court concerning the Ipob leader. They have urged President Buhari to order for the immediate release of Mr Kanu from detention as he needs urgent medical treatment abroad.