Lawyer of IPOB leader, Kanu, accuses Supreme Court of ‘betraying the constitution’

A member of the legal team representing Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has accused the Supreme Court of “committing jurisprudential suicide” by allowing his continued trial despite an earlier discharge by the Court of Appeal.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Barrister Onyedikachi Ifedi described the apex court’s decision as a “grotesque betrayal of the Constitution” and an endorsement of “executive lawlessness” that undermines Kanu’s fundamental rights.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Supreme Court of Nigeria’s grotesque betrayal of the Constitution in FRN v. Nnamdi Kanu,” Ifedi said. “By overturning a lawful discharge grounded in state-sponsored kidnapping, the Court has illegally derogated from non-derogable Chapter IV rights, annulled the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy, and reduced Nigeria’s judiciary to an arm of executive lawlessness.”

He argued that the ruling contradicted constitutional safeguards, particularly Section 36(1) on the right to a fair hearing and Section 36(9) on protection against retrial after acquittal. He also criticised the court’s reliance on national security grounds, noting that Section 45(2) forbids derogation from fair hearing rights, even in times of war.

“The Court’s invented ‘national security’ exception is a fraudulent rewrite of the supreme law,” Ifedi said. “The Court of Appeal’s discharge order was a final acquittal, yet the Supreme Court resurrected dead charges in service of state impunity.”

Citing the UK case R v. Horseferry Road Magistrates’ Court and similar rulings from the European Court of Human Rights, South Africa, and the UN Human Rights Council, Ifedi maintained that prosecutions arising from unlawful rendition lack jurisdiction and should be nullified.

He further alleged that the ruling violated Nigeria’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, describing it as “morally perverse” and “internationally shameful.”

Ifedi demanded Kanu’s immediate release, a review of the judgment, an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC), and targeted UN sanctions.

“The Supreme Court has shredded Nigeria’s social contract,” he declared. “When the highest court licenses state abduction, suspends non-derogable rights, and voids double jeopardy, it commits constitutional hara-kiri. This judgment is not law, it is tyranny disguised as jurisprudence.”

He also urged the international community to treat Nigeria “as a rogue state” until Kanu is freed and constitutional order is restored.

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