The appellant argued, among others, that the Court of Appeal erred when it faulted the manner Kanu was brought back to face trial after he jumped bail and fled the country.
By Saidu Idris
365Daily – The President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government has rejected an Appeal Court judgement which ordered it to free the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, from custody.
To this end, it, the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, acting on behalf of the Federal Government, on Wednesday, October 19, 2022, filed an appeal at the Supreme Court against the judgement of the Court of Appeal.
On October 13, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, upheld the appeal of Kanu that he should be released from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) and declared the abduction of Kanu in Kenya as unlawful.
A three-member panel of the appellate court also quashed the terrorism charge brought against him by the Federal Government.
The Court of Appeal was of the view that the Federal Government breached all local and international laws in the forceful rendition of Kanu to Nigeria, thereby making the terrorism charge against him incompetent and unlawful.
In reaction, the Attorney General of the Federation has asked the apex court to stay the execution of the October 13 judgement.
The motion contained a seven-ground notice of appeal, in which the Federal Government not only faulted the lower court’s decision, but equally prayed that it be set aside.
The appellant argued, among others, that the Court of Appeal erred when it faulted the manner Kanu was brought back to face trial after he jumped bail and fled the country.
It contended further that the Court of Appeal also erred when it struck out the pending charge against Kanu on the ground that the trial court no longer possessed the requisite jurisdiction to continue the trial because of the manner Kanu was returned to the country upon allegedly jumping bail.
A date for the hearing of the motion for the stay of execution is being awaited.