The Court of Appeal has granted the application filed by the Nigerian government to stay the execution of the judgement which ordered the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
On October 13, a three-man panel of the Appeal Court ruled that the rendition of the IPOB leader from Kenya in June 2021 by the Nigerian government was illegal. Therefore, Kanu who is facing trial for treasonable charges was discharged and acquitted by the appellate court.
However, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, insisted that Kanu cannot be released from the custody of the secret police, the Department of State Services as he still has other charges against him.
The Nigerian government thereafter appealed the judgment of the appellate court at the Supreme Court and applied for a stay of execution of the Appeal Court ruling which had ordered the immediate and unconditional release of Kanu from detention.
In his decision on the federal government’s application, Justice Haruna Tsanammi of the Appeal Court on Friday while granting the government’s application ordered that the result of the ruling should be forwarded to the Supreme Court within seven days for an expeditious hearing.
With the new turnaround, Kanu will remain in detention pending when the Supreme Court hears the case and determines the appellate court ruling.