The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the continuation of the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on terrorism charges.
The case which started in 2015 had been put on hold at the Federal High Court in Abuja after the Court of Appeal dismissed the charges in a judgement delivered in October 2022.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja had anchored its decision dismissing the charges on the illegality of the “extraordinary rendition” of Mr Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021 to continue his trial.
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Kudirat Kekere-Ekun declared on Friday that Mr Kanu’s forcible repatriation from Kenya to Nigeria is illegal.
However, the court, in the lead judgement prepared by Tijjani Abubakar, ruled that there is no Nigerian law that prohibits the use of “illegally obtained evidence for the trial of a defendant.”
The lead judgement of the Supreme Court was prepared by Mr Abubakar but was read on his behalf by Emmanuel Agim.
“The Court of Appeal was wrong to say that the Federal High Court can no longer try Mr Kanu,” the court held.
“The appeal is allowed and the cross-appeal is dismissed.”
In the unanimous decision, the Supreme Court said Mr Kanu’s forcible repatriation from Kenya in June 2021 by the Nigerian government did not rob the trial court of jurisdiction to entertain the IPOB leader’s trial.
“Our law is that evidence illegality obtained is valid before the court. A violation of Mr Kanu’s right should have been by way of civil proceedings. That is not our law for now,” Mr Abubakar declared.
He also ruled that there is no legislation that provides in Nigeria that trial should stop where the prosecution does something illegal against the defendant while standing trial. “There is a civil remedy,” Mr Abubakar said.
The judgement also implies an effective reversal of the previous decision of the Court of Appeal ordering the release of Mr Kanu from detention.
