By Rita Elenwo
The Supreme Court has fixed December 15 for judgment in the appeals filed by the Federal Government and detained leader of proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
A five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, chose date after lawyer to the Federal Government, Tijani Gazali (SAN), and counsel to Kanu, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), made their final submissions.
The Federal Government prayed the court to set aside an earlier judgment by the Court of Appeal, which quashed the treasonable felony charge against Kanu and ordered his release on the grounds that he was unlawfully brought back to the country after he jumped bail.
Kanu urged the Supreme Court to allow the judgment of the Court of Appeal and uphold his discharge and acquittal.
In his final submission, Gazali urge the apex court “to allow the appeal, set aside the judgment of the court below and affirm the judgment of the trial court (Federal High Court) to the effect that the respondent should stand trial in respect of the charge, which the court below quashed”.
The government lawyer urged the court to dismiss Kanu’s cross appeal.
Ozekhome urged the court to dismiss the appeal filed by the Federal Government with punitive costs and uphold the cross appeal in order to do substantial justice to this matter.
He urged the court to allow the cross appeal filed by his client.
Ozekhome told the court that Kanu had been in custody since June 29, 2021 “even when the lower court had ordered his release”.
The lawyer prayed the court “to use this case to demonstrate that no government should trample on the rights of citizens, as was done in the case of Ojukwu v. Lagos State”.
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