Prominent civil rights advocacy group: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has expressed the opinion that the Supreme Court of Nigeria will be on the side of the supremacy of the principle of rule of law by upholding the earlier articulate and refined judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja division which ordered the immediate freedom for the leader of the Indigenous peoples of Biafra(IPOB) Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

The Supreme Court has scheduled December 15th 2023 to rule on the appeal filed by the Federal Government against the decision of the Court of Appeal which quashed all the charges slammed on Nnamdi Kanu who has now spent over 4 years in secret detention of the Department of State Services(DSS) since he was abducted from Nairobi Kenya and bundled back home  by security operatives sent to the East African nation by the then President retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari.

The Rights group recalled that the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory had last year upheld the appeal of the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.

The court also discharged and acquitted the embattled leader of the proscribed group.

Kanu had in his appeal dated April 29 and marked CA/ABJ/CR/625/2022 applied to be discharged and acquitted. Kanu was first arraigned on December 23, 2015, and was later granted bail on April 25, 2017.

However, the Court of Appeal  declared as illegal and unlawful, the abduction Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria and quashed the entire terrorism charges brought against him by the Federal Government.

The Appellate Court held that the Federal Government breached all local and international laws in the forceful rendition of Kanu to Nigeria thereby making the terrorism charges against him incompetent and unlawful.

The Appeal Court in a judgment by Justice Oludotun Adebola voided and set aside the charges by the Federal Government against Kanu.

The Appellate Court proceeded to discharge Kanu from the alleged offences.

Justice Adebola held that failure of Nigeria to follow due process by way of Extradition was fatal to the charges against Kanu.

The Appeal Court further held that the failure of the Federal Government to disclose where and when the alleged offences were committed was also fatal to the terrorism charges and made them liable to dismissal.

HURIWA said it was such a massive disappointment then that the immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari,  with unambiguous impunity and lawlessness, disrespected the court of Appeal’s decision in the Nnamdi Kanu’s matter for almost a month before filing and obtaining a stay of execution of the judgment of the Appellate Court freeing Nnamdi Kanu, and then proceeded to file an appeal at the Supreme Court of Nigeria. HURIWA said anything contrary to affirming the earlier verdict of the Court of Appeal by the Supreme Court of Nigeria freeing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu will amount to the legalisation of crass official impunity and executive lawlessness.

HURIWA said the brazen and flagrant disregard to the principle of rule of law by then President Buhari who failed to comply with the Appeal court’s verdict freeing Nnamdi Kanu, precipitated the biggest civil strife and killings in the South East of Nigeria with over 300 civilians and security operatives getting killed in crossfire between unidentified killer squads operating as unknown gunmen just as the security forces due to the tough approaches they have continued to adopt, have killed hundreds of innocent Igbo youths.

In a media statement as part of the year 2023 International human rights day which is December 10th, HURIWA has therefore through its National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko expressed optimism that in the interest of national security and because of the undying need to restore security and stability in the Soith East, that the Supreme Court of Nigeria will inevitably be guided by the what is best for Nigeria and what will best promote the principle of rule of law even as the Rights group said the straightforward answer to these critical questions is for the nation’s apex court to restore the judgment of the Court of Appeal which had freed Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.