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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The family of detained leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has asked the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to defend the nation’s constitution by not allowing the continued trial of the IPOB leader under a repealed law.
The letter, signed by Prince Emmanuel Kanu on behalf of the Okwu- Kanu family, decried the NBA’s silence as helping an unlawful court case against Nnamdi Kanu, and also breaking the constitution.
They called on the association to publicly acknowledge that no person in Nigeria can be tried under a repealed law, to publicly affirm that double criminality under Section 76 of the 2022 Act is a mandatory condition for jurisdiction; to call out judicial misconduct where courts deliberately ignore constitutional limits, and to stop enabling public ignorance by remaining silent.
The letter reads in part: “The hard truth is that the NBA has failed in its duty, and its silence in the face of clear constitutional violations has allowed an unlawful and fake court case against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to continue.
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“The NBA, a body created to defend the rule of law and protect the legal order, has stood by quietly while Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is being tried under a law that no longer exists, a law that was repealed by the National Assembly, and whose use in any court violates Section 36(12) of the 1999 Constitution.
“Throughout this period, the NBA has spoken no word, taken no action, and made no attempt to educate the public or correct the dangerous misunderstanding surrounding this trial. This is not neutrality; it is aiding injustice by doing nothing.
“The controlling law for terrorism-related prosecutions in Nigeria today is the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act 2022, not a repealed law, and that law makes it clear in Section 76(1)(d)(iii) that no Nigerian court can try a person for an offence allegedly committed in another country unless that foreign country also regards the alleged act as a crime. Kenya has never accused, investigated, or charged Mazi Nnamdi Kanu with any crime of any kind.
“In simple language, this means there is no double criminality and therefore no jurisdiction, and without jurisdiction a trial is impossible. This is basic law that any second-year law student understands; yet the NBA has behaved as if the meaning is hidden or confusing.”
