1 month ago
27
The Initiative Against Human Rights Abuse and Torture (INAHURAT) has demanded the contiguous and unconditional merchandise of the detained person of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, describing his ongoing proceedings arsenic “an unlawful persecution, not a prosecution.”
In a connection signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Gerald Katchy, connected Monday successful Abuja, the radical faulted the Supreme Court’s December 2023 determination ordering a retrial, insisting the apex tribunal acted without jurisdiction.
“The proceedings of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is simply a travesty. The Supreme Court attempted to revive a lawsuit that was already dormant successful law. This is not lone a jurisdictional catastrophe but besides a deliberate enactment of persecution,” Katchy said.
INAHURAT recalled that the Court of Appeal connected October 13, 2022, discharged and acquitted Kanu connected grounds that his bonzer rendition from Kenya was unlawful and violated his cardinal rights.
“From that moment, determination was nary transgression complaint pending against Nnamdi Kanu successful immoderate Nigerian court. He was, successful the eyes of the law, an guiltless man,” the radical maintained, citing the precedent successful Salu v. Egeibon (1994), which bars retrial aft an acquittal.
Although the national authorities secured a enactment of execution connected Kanu’s release, INAHURAT argued that the enactment bid did not impact the substantive acquittal.
“For 14 months, from October 2022 to December 2023, the lawsuit was a ineligible shade — a ammunition without substance. The Supreme Court truthful ruled connected a nullity,” the connection read.
The radical further argued that subjecting Kanu to a retrial would magnitude to treble jeopardy, successful usurpation of Section 36(9) of the Constitution.
“The Court of Appeal is simply a tribunal of competent jurisdiction. Its acquittal triggered the law shield of treble jeopardy. Any effort astatine retrial is simply a brazen usurpation of the ultimate instrumentality of the land,” Katchy said.
INAHURAT besides questioned the ineligible ground of the charges, noting that they were brought nether the repealed Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act 2013.
“That instrumentality was repealed successful May 2022 by the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022. You cannot prosecute anyone nether a instrumentality that nary longer exists. It is similar putting thing connected nothing,” the radical declared.
Beyond the ineligible arguments, the radical accused the authorities of tainting the full process done unlawful actions, including Kanu’s bonzer rendition, the subject penetration of his location successful Abia State, and persistent bias successful tribunal proceedings.
“Justice Emmanuel Agim of the Supreme Court himself admitted that these actions made it intolerable for Kanu to beryllium tried fairly. Under the doctrine of the ‘fruit of the poisonous tree,’ each proceedings are null and void,” the connection noted.
INAHURAT urged the Attorney-General of the Federation to record a nolle prosequi to terminate what it described arsenic a nullity. It besides called connected the Federal High Court to disregard the charges suo motu and urged the Nigerian Bar Association to support the integrity of the ineligible system.
The radical appealed to planetary quality rights bodies and diplomatic missions to admit Kanu arsenic a unfortunate of bonzer rendition and governmental persecution.
“The lone constitutional, lawful, and conscionable result is the contiguous and unconditional merchandise of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Anything little is an affront to the regularisation of instrumentality and Nigeria’s law order,” INAHURAT concluded.
English (US) ·