The Supreme Court is alleged to have obstructed the legal process against the Indigenous People of Biafra’s (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
The Supreme Court was charged by IPOB with exploiting Kanu as an excuse for an adjournment.
IPOB’s spokesperson, Emma Powerful, stated that the separatist group was unhappy and perplexed by the Supreme Court’s decision to revoke the earlier schedule for the hearing of Kanu’s appeal.
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The Supreme Court’s ruling, according to Powerful, was the worst example of a mockery of justice and a savage assault on the rule of law.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), ably led by the great and unyielding liberator Mazi Nnamdi Okwuchukwu KANU, released the following statement. “We the global family and movement of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) condemn the continuous adjournment of our Leader’s case by the Supreme Court of Nigeria in their efforts for our Leader to remain in the DSS solitary confinement in Abuja,” it reads.
“The afterthought and weak justification is that the hearing date of September 14, 2023, which was originally intended to coincide with the Supreme Court’s annual vacation. This is the worst kind of farce of justice and brutal dismantling of the rule of law, to put it mildly.
“Permit us to question, was it not in open court that the Justices of the Supreme Court who heard the appeal on May 11, 2023, postponed the matter to September 14, 2023?
We believe the 14th of September 2023 was not arbitrarily chosen as the adjournment date; rather, it was carefully chosen in light of the Federal Government’s deliberate attempt to obstruct the proceedings on that day by requesting an extension of time to file its papers even though it was clearly past the deadline. As a result, the Appeal was postponed to the 14th of September 2023 for a definitive hearing.
How could they have adjourned to the 14th of September 2023 without being guided by their diary, which contains the full schedule of activities and holidays for the Supreme Court for the entire year? If the Apex Court’s current intention is not a clear rape of democracy and subversion of the course of justice.
The Supreme Court’s own regulations governing criminal proceedings that are subject to accelerated hearing state that this date cannot be changed on the flimsy argument that it conflicts with the Apex Court’s yearly vacation. It should be noted that the current developments serve as further evidence that the Supreme Court of Nigeria is breaking its own guidelines by repeatedly deferring the case of our Leader.
IPOB pleaded with the foreign communities to persuade the Supreme Court to take up Kanu’s appeal “so that this case would be decided as soon as possible.”
The organisation questioned how the Nigerian government would explain why Kanu had not been released despite being discharged and found not guilty by the Appeal Court.
He stated, “If the Federal Government of Nigeria is no longer interested in prosecuting their Appeal, our Leader should be immediately released in accordance with the Order of the Penultimate Court given on the 13th day of October 2022.”
