The legal battle over the detention of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, has taken a new turn, with his lawyer accusing the Federal Government of clinging to “propaganda and dead laws” instead of obeying binding court rulings.
Onyedikachi Ifedi, a member of Kanu’s defence team, said Abuja has no legal foundation to continue holding the separatist leader, insisting that the Supreme Court’s refusal to honour a Court of Appeal judgment declaring Kanu’s 2021 rendition illegal amounted to “theatrics of the highest order.”
“The Nigerian government abducted Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from Kenya in a classic case of extraordinary rendition — an act prohibited under both Nigerian and international law,” Ifedi said in a strongly worded statement. “Instead of respecting the Court of Appeal’s ruling nullifying the proceedings, the Supreme Court somersaulted and revived a case that was already dead. That is the real theatre.”
Ifedi further described Kanu’s ongoing trial as unlawful, arguing that it is based on the repealed Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act 2013, which was replaced by the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act 2022. “Every count against him is a legal corpse. Yet the judiciary entertains it,” he said.
The lawyer stressed that no evidence of violence has been linked to Kanu personally. “No victim. No weapon. Only speeches and broadcasts, which are constitutionally protected under Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution and Article 9 of the African Charter,” he said.
Beyond the legal arguments, Ifedi accused the government of orchestrating a media campaign to portray IPOB’s quest for acquittal as a desperate theatre. “Theatrics are not in IPOB’s demand for justice,” he declared. “Theatrics are in a government prosecuting under repealed laws, a judiciary contradicting itself, and propaganda outlets hiding behind faceless authors.”
The fiery intervention comes as renewed calls mount within and outside Nigeria for Kanu’s release, with human rights advocates warning that his prolonged detention risks deepening grievances in the South-East and undermining public faith in the rule of law.
