The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in Awka, Thursday, called for the dismissal of the remaining charges brought against the leader of the group, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and three others.

The call came following the dismissal of six out of the eleven charges against Kanu by Justice Binta Murtala Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Justice Nyako had on Wednesday, dismissed six counts against them namely, counts three, five, seven, nine, ten and eleven and sustained counts one, two, four, six and eight.

IPOB spokespersons, Mr. Emma Nmezu, a lawyer, and Dr. Clifford Iroanya in a statement to journalists in Awka said that as IPOB prepares for a full trial on count six, it was demanding that the remaining four counts be dismissed on the grounds of fraud/perjury, false claim/identity, and for conflicts with relevant sections of CAP-C38 and Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015.

They said, “Counts one, two and eight must be dismissed because the charges do not conform to Section-196(1) and second schedule of the ACJA of 2015. The cited section and schedule in the ACJA require that every charge must include the date, year, and location of the commission of the offence for which the accused is being charged.

“When it comes to the specificity of time of the commission of an offence, there is no provision for the term ‘diverse dates’ either in Section-196(1) or in second schedule of ACJA-2015.

“Secondly, Section-43 of CAP-C38 requires that an accused person can no longer be tried for treason and related felonies after two years from the stated date of commission of the offence.

“Without a specific date of commission of the offence, how then can the prosecution prove that two years have not elapsed as at the time of commencement of this case in Justice Binta’s court?

“In addition to dismissing these three counts, we urge Justice Binta Murtala–Nyako to indict, convict and jail the prosecution for committing a crime punishable under Section-118 of CAP-C38.

“On the 29th of May, 2015, Retired General Muhammadu Buhari was sworn-in as the President of Nigeria, which includes the occupied territories of Biafra land, while count four stated that Buhari, as the President of Nigeria, was defamed by Nnamdi Kanu on the 28th of April 2015. “This is not only a false claim on the status of Buhari as at April 28, 2015, it is also a case of perjury, and the prosecution must be indicted and convicted of committing a crime as specified in Section-117 of CAP-C38. We also categorically state that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu could not have referred to Buhari as the President of Nigeria as at April 28, 2015.”

They group further warned that any refusal by Justice Murtala Nyako to dismiss count four, IPOB would base its argument for the continuation of the charge on Section-379(5) of CAP-C38.

They insisted that the court must grant them the rights to subpoena everyone linked to the charge, in line with the argument of IPOB.

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