Court appearance – wearied proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB) on Thursday, rejected any further court trial of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Anchoring its resolve on the matter on the decision of the Appeal Court in Abuja, on October 13, 2022, which discharged and acquitted Kanu of all the charges filed against him by the Federal Government(FG), the group said it has been convinced that the FG has no case any longer against the separatist agitator.
It added that this informed why the FG refused to appear in court to pursue its case against Kanu.
The Daily Crucible reports that the embattled Kanu has been held in detention by the Department of State Services(DSS) since 2021 after he was arrested in Kenya and repatriated to Nigeria.
The Supreme Court had on December 15, 2023 approved Kanu’s trial on charges of terrorism filed against him by the Federal Government.
The case was redirected back to the High Court for retrial and the Court fixed February 8, 2024, to commence hearing on the matter.
But at the resumed commencement of the trial today, the FG did not put on an appearance, forcing the court to adjourn the case.
In a statement on Thursday, the IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, urged President Bola Tinubu to release Kanu unconditionally, saying the self-determination agenda being pursued by their leader is “lawful domestically and internationally.”
He said Nigerian Government is persecuting Kanu and his followers by refusing to appear in court concerning the resumed trial of the IPOB leader.
He said, “Sadly, the same Federal Government that is prosecuting Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is refusing to make an appearance at the same Abuja High Court hearing on February 8, 2024.
“The refusal of the Federal Government to appear in the court on that day for continuation of their trial is evident that they do not have a case against Kanu.
“We stand by the judgment of the Appeal Court, which ordered that our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu should not be tried again in any Nigerian court. The Supreme Court Judges agreed with them but lacked the courage and integrity to uphold the Appeal Court judgment.
“IPOB leadership has reviewed the actions of the Federal Government and the judiciary and totally rejected further trial of our leader in the High Court. They know very well that they have no case against him.
“The FG is just utilising the weak instrumentality of the law in Nigeria to detain and persecute Kanu indefinitely. The wicked persecution of Kanu and other innocent IPOB members will continue to destroy Nigeria’s image locally and internationally.
“We are interested in the self-preservation of Biafrans from marauding terrorists. Biafra liberation is a divine project that not even former President Muhammadu Buhari nor anyone else can stop its actualisation.
“IPOB has come to restore Biafra, and it is either Biafra or Biafra. That is our oath of allegiance to the Biafra Nation and our oath of honour to all those who have fallen in the course of our match to freedom.”
