The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Thursday, struck out the terrorism charge filed against the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
The court also discharged and acquitted the embattled leader of the proscribed group.
The appellate court in a judgment by a three-member panel held that Kanu’s extradition from Kenya to Nigeria to stand trial was illegal.
The IPOB leader was re-arraigned on an amended 15-count charge bordering on treasonable felony preferred against him by the federal government.
However, on April 8, the judge struck out eight of the 15 counts in the charge.
However, Kanu, through his team of lawyers led by Mike Ozekhome, filed an appeal marked CA/ABJ/CR/625/2022, praying the court to quash the remaining seven counts for being devoid of merit.
The court was also asked to order the immediate release of Kanu should the charges be quashed.
Moving the application at the court session on September 13, Ozekhome alleged that his client was forcefully abducted from Kenya and illegally brought back to the country.
He argued that under the “doctrine of speciality” as provided for in section 15 of the Extradition Act, the federal government ought to have proceeded to try Kanu on the initial five-count charge on which he was re-arraigned before he fled the country.
Ozekhome argued further Kenya, being the country from where Kanu was arrested and extraordinarily renditioned to Nigeria, ought to have authorised his extradition and the new charges he is facing.
Counsel to the federal government, David Kaswe, however asked the court to dismiss the appeal for lack of merit.
