Ohanaeze Reacts To Supreme Court Ruling On Nnamdi Kanu

The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has reacted to the nullification of the Court of Appeal’s decision to release Nnamdi Kanu by the Supreme Court on Friday

Recall that the apex court held that although Nnamdi Kanu was illegally repatriated to Nigeria from Kenya when he jumped bail, that development could not have divested the trial court of the jurisdiction to continue his trial.

The court, in a unanimous decision by a five-member panel of Justices, acknowledged that FG acted “irresponsibly” when it forcefully brought Kanu back to the country from Kenya, against all known laws.

It, however, held that it was not enough to divest the trial court of its jurisdiction to continue with the case.

According to the Supreme Court, there is no legislation in the country that stripped the trial court of the jurisdiction to go ahead with Kanu’s case, despite the illegal action that FG took against him.

Reacting to the judgement, the spokesman for Ohanaeze, Dr Alex Ogbonnia, stated that the organization will disclose the court’s decision and formulate its definitive stance.

Ohanaeze spokesman emphasized via a phone interview that the court cannot both condemn and condone.

He pointed out that while the court deemed the government’s abduction of Kanu from Kenya as illegal, it also ruled that he should stand trial, thereby allowing the government to benefit from its own wrongdoing through this judgment.

“But as I said, Ohanaeze Ndigbo will certainly meet and digest the decision and its implications to Southeast security and the well-being of its people and also come up with its position on the trial of Kanu henceforth,” Ogbonnia reportedly said.

Kanu is the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group calling for the independent state of Biafra following what the group described as the systematic marginalisation of the Southeast region by the Nigerian government.

The IPOB leader, who was first arrested by security agents in Lagos on October 14, 2015, has been detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) since June 2021.