By Vera E. Abah
ATTORNEY General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has said the federal government will not release Nnamdi Kanu despite the ruling of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal that freed the Biafra separatist leader of terrorism and other charges instituted against him by government.
A three-judge panel of the appellate court ruled on Thursday afternoon that Kanu was illegally extracted from Kenya by Nigerian agents in a process known internationally as extraordinary rendition but which rights experts define as an abduction.
The judges said the Nigerian government could not charge Kanu for any offence in Nigeria until federal authorities are able to explain how they moved him from Nairobi to Abuja in June 2022.
The judges described the government’s action as not only illegal but reckless and dangerous to national security, adding that the extradition process exists for the clear purpose of preserving human rights and maintaining international peace.
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, in a statement after the ruling, said he would continue to hold the separatist leader in custody with the aim of pursuing other charges against him.
Malami claimed that Thursday’s court ruling was only about the illegality of Kanu’s forced removal from Kenya and transfer to Nigeria. This is contrary to the position of the judges who explicitly held that no charges could be filed against Kanu on any other matter unless the question of how he was brought back to Nigeria had first been resolved.
“For the avoidance of doubt and by the verdict of the Court, Kanu was only discharged and not acquitted. Consequently, the appropriate legal options before the authorities will be exploited and communicated accordingly to the public,” Malami claimed in a statement circulated on his behalf by his media aide Umar Gwandu.
“The decision handed down by the court of appeal was on a single issue that borders on rendition,” he added, further stressing: “Let it be made clear to the general public that other issues that predate rendition on the basis of which Kanu jumped bail remain valid issues for judicial determination… The Federal Government will consider all available options open to us on the judgment on rendition while pursuing determination of pre-rendition issues.”
