The family of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has decried the Supreme Court’s delay in the release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of its ruling on Kanu’s matter.
On December 15, 2023, the Supreme Court set aside the ruling of the Appeal Court, which, in its earlier verdict, set the IPOB leader free from the terrorism charges slammed against him by the federal government.
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The apex court ruled that instead, Kanu should be tried at the appropriate court.
The head of the Kanu family, Kanunta Kanu, said in a statement that the non-release of the CTC by the Supreme Court was jeopardizing further legal moves the family could have taken.
Kanu said discreet investigations the family carried out revealed that the justices of the apex court, who sat on the matter, were yet to append their signatures to the judgment, more than four weeks after it was delivered.
He wondered why the Justices of the Supreme Court, who sat on their son’s matter, would allow the normal 14 days to elapse without signing the judgement.
The family said Kanu was smelling a rat in the whole delay, adding that the unlawful withholding of the CTC in the case of the IPOB leader shows Nigeria cannot obey her treaty obligations, which he said amounted to official terrorism.
“Unlawfully withholding the CTC in the case of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has confirmed that Nigeria will not obey her treaty obligations.
“These justices, the presidency and the Nigerian entity are officially terrorists according to the laws of Nigeria,” he said.
Quoting Section 2 (3)(f) of the Terrorism (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022, Kanu said, “In this Act “act of terrorism” means an act wilfully performed with the intention of furthering an ideology, whether political, religious, racial, or ethnic and which violates the provisions of any international treaty or resolution to which Nigeria is a party, subject to the provisions of section 12 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999; and Cap C23, LFN 2004.”
The family urged the Supreme Court to release the CTC of Kanu’s case to enable her shop for other options.