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IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu
The National Judicial Council has disclaimed reports that the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has been released and repatriated back to Kenya.
NJC in a statement signed by its Deputy Director of Information, Kemi Ogedengbe, on Thursday in Abuja, emphasised that the purported report is a fabrication and a figment of the writers’ imagination.
The council clarified that while the release is attributed to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, there is no court decision from her to substantiate the claim.
Kanu is currently facing a seven-count terrorism charge brought against him by the Federal Government.
He was first arrested on October 14, 2015, following his return to Nigeria from the UK. He was later granted bail in 2017 on health grounds after being detained at the Kuje Correctional Facility.
However, Kanu jumped bail and returned to the United Kingdom. He was re-arrested in Kenya in 2021 and extradited to Nigeria, where he has remained in the custody of the Department of State Services till date.
Kanu’s trial, which was briefly stalled due to his demand for a change in his trial judge, is set to continue on Friday, March 21, before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The statement read, “The attention of the National Judicial Council has been drawn to media reports that the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman of the Council, Hon. Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, has ordered the release of the detained Nnamdi Kanu and his repatriation to Kenya.
“The council wishes to state that the media report is false and a figment of the writer’s imagination, as there are no court proceedings, decisions, or judgments where such statements ascribed to His Lordship were made.
“The council categorically emphasizes that the Hon. CJN neither presided over any case involving Kanu at the apex court, where jurisdiction issues were argued, nor made any such pronouncement.”
The council added that the CJN never wrote any formal letter to the Kenyan Government or High Commission apologising for the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu or his trial. It urged members of the public to disregard the fake story.
