A member of the Nnamdi Kanu global legal team, Onyedikachi Ifedi, Esq., has claimed that the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, “proved in open court” on Tuesday that the charges filed against him by the Federal Government were “legally dead and non-existent.”

Speaking after the court session at the Federal High Court in Abuja presided over by Justice James Omotosho, Ifedi said Kanu relied on constitutional provisions and a Supreme Court judgment to challenge the legality of the charges preferred against him.

“Kanu has no valid, living, or extant charge against him. None. Zero. The entire charge sheet is a legal corpse repealed, non-existent, and unamended in open defiance of a Supreme Court order,” Ifedi said in a public briefing note issued after the proceedings.

During the session, Kanu reportedly stood to represent himself and insisted that the Federal Government’s charges were invalid since the laws cited had been repealed and not amended as directed by the apex court.

“My Lord, there is no charge before this court,” Kanu said. “This court lacks jurisdiction. No charge against me exists in any current Nigerian statute. I ask that the court strike it out today.”

According to the defence note, Justice Omotosho declined to give an immediate ruling, stating that the application would be taken at the appropriate stage.

“This is not a final address. The court will take your motion at the appropriate stage,” the judge said.

Kanu, however, insisted that the issue of jurisdiction should come first before any trial could proceed.

“Jurisdiction is taken first, My Lord. Without a charge, there can be no stage,” Kanu maintained.

The IPOB leader further cited the December 15, 2023 judgment of the Supreme Court which, he said, ordered that the charges be amended. Reading from the judgment of Justice Garba JSC, Kanu said, “Count 15 does not exist in the body of Nigerian laws. It is unknown to our law. The prosecution must amend it.”

He accused the prosecution of disobeying the Supreme Court’s directive by failing to amend the charge before proceeding with the trial.

“You were ordered to amend it. You disobeyed. Yet you forced me to plead to a count that does not exist. That alone nullifies this entire proceeding,” Kanu told the prosecution.

Kanu further challenged the prosecution team led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Awa Kalu Awomolo, to identify the law under which he was being tried.

“Learned Silk, please tell this court the extant written law I allegedly broke,” he said.

The briefing note alleged that the prosecution did not respond to the challenge, prompting Kanu to remark, “Just one law — the name, section, and statute in force today.”

Kanu invoked Section 36(12) of the 1999 Constitution, which stipulates that no person shall be tried for an offence not defined in a written law.

“Section 36(12) is clear. No person shall be tried or convicted for any offence not defined in a written law. No written law equals no offence, no charge, no trial, and no detention. I should not be here, My Lord,” Kanu argued.

Justice Omotosho responded that the constitutional provision applied at the point of conviction, not during trial.

“That provision applies at the point of conviction, not trial,” the judge said.

But Kanu disagreed, insisting that once a law ceases to exist, the court loses jurisdiction to continue with proceedings.

“My Lord, respectfully, that is wrong. The moment the law dies, so does jurisdiction. The trial cannot begin. It is a nullity ab initio,” he said.

He also cited global precedents, referencing the 1765 English case of Entick v. Carrington, in which Lord Camden ruled that no person can be tried for an offence not found in written law.

The proceedings were later adjourned to Wednesday, November 5, for Kanu to either open his defence or maintain his objection to the validity of the charges.

Ifedi, in his closing remarks, called on the Federal Government to comply with the Supreme Court’s judgment and either amend the charges or withdraw them altogether.

“Obey the Supreme Court: amend the charge or strike it out. Respect Section 36(12). No law means no trial and no detention. The only lawful step now is to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,” he said. (The Sun)