Abubakar Malami, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice says Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB will not be released despite an Appeal Court ruling which discharged him of terrorism charges.
The Abuja Division of the appellate court had on Thursday ruled that Kanu was abducted from Kenya by Nigerian agents.
The three-man panel said the Nigerian government could not charge Mr Kanu for any offence in Nigeria until federal authorities are able to explain how they moved him from Nairobi to Abuja in June 2021.
They said the action of the government was illegal, reckless and dangerous to national security.
They added that the extradition process exists for the clear purpose of preserving human rights and maintaining international peace.
However, Malami said he would continue to hold Mr Kanu in custody with the aim of pursuing other charges against him.
He claimed that today’s Appeal Court ruling was only about the illegality of Mr Kanu’s forced removal from Kenya and transfer to Nigeria.
“For the avoidance of doubt and by the verdict of the Court, Kanu was only discharged and not acquitted,” Mr Malami claimed in a statement circulated on his behalf by his media aide Umar Gwandu. “Consequently, the appropriate legal options before the authorities will be exploited and communicated accordingly to the public.”
“The decision handed down by the court of appeal was on a single issue that borders on rendition,” he added. “Let it be made clear to the general public that other issues that predate rendition on the basis of which Kanu jumped bail remain valid issues for judicial determination.”
“The Federal Government will consider all available options open to us on the judgment on rendition while pursuing determination of pre-rendition issues,” the attorney-general said.
