16th December, 2023
By Taiwo Okanlawon
Indigenes of Afaraukwu Ibeku in Umuahia North LGA of Abia State have expressed their disappointment with the ruling of the Supreme Court, which upturned the ruling of the Appeal Court on IPOB leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
In upholding the Federal Government’s appeal on Friday, the Supreme Court held that Kanu must face trial at the Federal High Court.
The Supreme Court, in its ruling delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim but prepared by Justice Garba Lawal, held that the Court of Appeal was wrong to rule that Kanu could not be tried again based on the illegality perpetrated against him by the Federal Government following the invasion of his home.
Also, the court held that although the Nigerian government recklessly and unlawfully renditioned Kanu from Kenya, such an unlawful act has not divested any court from proceeding with the trial.
Reacting to the judgement, the people of Afaraukwu Ibeku, the hometown of Mazi Nnamdi, described the Supreme Court ruling as a big disgrace to the Nigerian judiciary and a setback for human rights.
The former President General of Afaraukwu community, Ikechuckwu Ndubueze, said that the ruling delivered by the Supreme Court was in contrast to justice.
He wondered how the same apex court that acknowledged that Kanu was wrongly arrested and brought into Nigeria unlawfully from Kenya could go ahead to quash the earlier ruling by the Appeal Court, freeing the IPOB leader.
Ndubueze, who described Nnamdi Kanu as a prophet, said that the Nigerian judiciary was no longer a place for justice, adding that conflicting judgments dished out by post-election courts have vindicated Kanu’s standpoints.
He warned that nothing must happen to their son, Nnamdi Kanu, in detention, as his kinsmen would not tolerate any harm to him.
According to the President General, the avalanche of injustice in the country has further justified Kanu’s call for Biafra.
“Nnamdi Kanu must certainly come back to Ibekuland, and nothing must happen to him in detention. We, the Ibeku people, are fearless and would never tolerate any harm to our son,” he declared.
He wondered why the Federal Government was not respecting human rights laws as enshrined in the United Nations, African Union, and ECOWAS charters.