The Supreme Court on Thursday morning adjourned the appeal hearing of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to May 11, 2023.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that this update was made known by Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, the Special Counsel for the outlawed group and its detained separatist leader.
The reason for the adjournment is not clear as of the time of publishing this report.
Ejimakor said in a terse message: “Sadly, the Supreme Court has adjourned the #MNK appeal hearing to next month.”
The Supreme Court was scheduled to hear the IPOB leader’s appeal against a 2022 judgement by the Court of Appeal.
Kanu, a British-Nigerian citizen, has been in detention at the facility of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja since he was brought back from Kenya in June 2021. He was subsequently re-arraigned on an amended 15-count charge.
On April 8, 2022, the judge struck out eight of the 15 counts in the charge. The remaining seven counts were later quashed by the court of appeal in October that year.
Delivering judgment in the appeal, a three-member panel of the appellate court led by Hanatu Sankey held that the federal government flouted the Terrorism Act in violation of international conventions and treaties, hence, breaching the rights of the respondent.
The court further held that having illegally and forcefully renditioned the appellant, the trial court is stripped of jurisdiction to continue to try Kanu.
However, the federal government is yet to release the IPOB leader.
Kanu’s camp considers his continued incarceration as a “grave injustice” and has persistently called on the federal government to release the separatist leader unconditionally.
