The Supreme Court has fixed December 15 for judgment on the appeal seeking to compel the Federal Government to release Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, (IPOB) from detention.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja had in October 2022 ordered the Federal Government to release Kanu, but the FG, dissatisfied with the judgment, headed to the Supreme Court.
But during its proceedings on Thursday, October 5, 2023, a five-member panel of the apex court headed by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, fixed December 15 for ruling on the matter.
During the proceedings, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, counsel for Kanu, had urged the court to order the immediate release of the IPOB leader.
Ozekhome also urged the court to award a heavy punitive cost against the FG.
“We urge my lords to uphold our Cross-Appeal to do substantial justice to this matter and to the Respondent who has been in detention since June 29, 2021, even after the lower court ordered his release and that he should never be prosecuted again on the same counts.
“They are still holding him unconstitutionally. We pray my Lords to deliver justice and use this case, just like in Ojukwu vs. State, to demonstrate that no man or government should be above the law,”he said.
However, the FG’s lawyer urged the Supreme Court to set aside the judgment that ordered Kanu’s release.
The lawyer urged the court to order the resumption of his trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja for terrorism-related charges
