BY ANTHONY OCHELA, ABUJA
Detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has asked the Court of Appeal in Abuja to discharge and acquit him of all the charges filed against him by the federal government.
Kanu’s legal team led by Aloy Ejimakor, in Appeal No: CA/ABJ/CR/2024 dated June 25 and filed before the court is also asking for a consequential order of the court unconditionally releasing the appellant from detention.
Ejimakor, in advancing five grounds of appeal, faulted the ruling of Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, delivered on June 19, and is asking the court for an order allowing the appeal and to set aside the ruling of the lower court.
Ejimakor, in the particulars of the appeal, said “the judge erred in law and occasioned grave miscarriage of justice against the appellant when the trial court held that “The main claim in this application deals with the counts of charge the defendant is facing. These counts of charge that this court had retained after a considered ruling on the counts of charge dismissing eight of the original counts. The main issue is that, if the defendant has a problem with the counts of charge retained, the option open is appeal”.
He also said “The trial court erred in law when it considered only one out of the seven (7) ‘jurisdictional’ Grounds raised in the preliminary objection), said lone Ground bordering on the repeal of the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act 2013 (TPAA 2013), which thus occasioned a grave miscarriage of justice against the Appellant.”
Citing its third ground of error, he said “The judge erred in law and thus occasioned grave miscarriage of justice against the appellant when the trial court refused the preliminary objection even after it held that “All the arguments of counsel may be correct but it will require the court to take evidence before it can pronounce on the arguments”.
Also, according to the appellant, “The learned trial court erred in law when the court ignored the glaring fact that the Respondent failed woefully to contradict or deny the affidavit evidence of the appellant and even admitted to some of the depositions of the appellant.
On another ground, the appellant further said” The judge erred in law and occasioned grave miscarriage of justice against the Appellant when the trial court held that the notice of preliminary objection was an abuse of judicial process and consequently struck it out.”
Seeking five reliefs, the appellant is seeking :An Order of this Honorable Court allowing the appeal and setting aside the decision/ruling of the court below.
“An Order of this Honorable Court that the said counts are invalid and incompetent by virtue of any or all of the Grounds raised in the Preliminary Objection.”
He is also asking for “An Order of this Honorable Court discharging and acquitting the Appellant of all the charges.
“A consequential Order of this Honorable Court unconditionally releasing the Appellant from detention.
“Any other order(s) deemed proper in the circumstances”.
The Federal High Court, Abuja had on Monday June 19, 2024 dismissed Kanu’s request for bail or to be moved from the Department of State Security Service custody to a prison or house arrest.
Justice Nyako said the same request had been brought before her by the defendant and it was dismissed for lack of merit.
While delivering her ruling, Justice Nyako, held that she found as a fact that Kanu jumped the bail when he was earlier granted.
Nyako also held that the sureties who stood for him in the earlier bail had applied to be discharged and had been discharged on the ground that they could not locate Kanu and did not know his whereabouts.
She said that the only option left for Kanu was to go to the Court of Appeal and exercise his right of Appeal.
The judge disagreed with Kanu’s lead counsel that the Supreme Court held that the earlier bail granted him ought not to have been revoked adding that she had gone through the Supreme Court judgment copy and did not see the claim of the lawyer.
