Kanu's extraordinary rendition created a permanent barrier to his prosecution - Barr Ejimakor October 15, 2022 | EASTERN PILOT Barr Al...
Kanu's extraordinary rendition created a permanent barrier to his prosecution - Barr Ejimakor
October 15, 2022 | EASTERN PILOT
Barr Aloy Ejimakor, the Special counsel to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has reacted to the position of Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami on the Court of Appeal judgment regarding Nnamdi Kanu.
Recall that AGF Malami, had contended that Kanu was merely discharged by the appellate court and not acquitted.
AGF Malami said in a statement released through his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations Officer, Dr Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, that "for the avoidance of doubt and by the verdict of the Court, Kanu was only discharged and not acquitted”.
Reacting to the AGF Malami’s position, Ejimakor in a statement made available to the press, said "If the Federal Government refuses or stalls on releasing Kanu solely because it desires to levy further or new charges, it will amount to a burgeoning holding charge which is impermissible in our jurisprudence."
He argued that in the face of the Appeal Court judgment, no new charges can stick against Kanu because, "in the present circumstance, the extraordinary rendition is an abiding factor that has created a permanent barrier to his prosecution”.
"Keep in mind that the extant trial of Kanu could never have proceeded had he not been illegally renditioned. So, it is not legally possible to lose jurisdiction in the extant charges and at once obtain jurisdiction in the next round of charges," he added.
Ejimakor maintained that the judgment of the Court of Appeal has therefore grandfathered a continuing lack of prosecutorial jurisdiction that will, in the interim, be very hard to overcome.
"Thus, before the levying of any new charges can have a toga of legality or chances of conferring prosecutorial jurisdiction, Kanu has to be released first. Anything to the contrary will be nugatory."
Read the full statement by Barrister Aloy Ejimakor below;
My reaction to AGF Malami’s position on the Court of Appeal judgment regarding Nnamdi Kanu
From Barrister Aloy Ejimakor
Special Counsel to Nnamdi Kanu
The position of AGF Malami on the Court of Appeal judgment regarding Nnamdi Kanu is flatly wrong and it is perverse to boot.
If the FG refuses or stalls on releasing Kanu solely because it desires to levy further or new charges, it will amount to a burgeoning holding charge which is impermissible in our jurisprudence.
Further, no new charges can stick against Kanu because, in the present circumstance, the extraordinary rendition is an abiding factor that has created a permanent barrier to his prosecution.
Keep in mind that the extant trial of Kanu could never have proceeded had he not been illegally renditioned. So, it is not legally possible to lose jurisdiction in the extant charges and at once obtain jurisdiction in the next round of charges.
The judgment of the Court of Appeal has therefore grandfathered a continuing lack of prosecutorial jurisdiction that will be impossible to overcome without first restoring Kanu to his state of being before the rendition.
The notion that Kanu was discharged but not acquitted smacks of mere semantics and exhibits a pathetic misconception of the ratio of the judgment which is simply that subjecting Kanu to trial is impossible unless you undo the extraordinary rendition.
Thus, before the levying of any new charges can have a toga of legality or chances of conferring prosecutorial jurisdiction, Kanu has to be released first, with the implied assurances that he is free to travel overseas without any let or hindrance.
Anything to the contrary will strain basic constitutional norms. It will also generate more political tensions in the polity and possibly trigger a nasty diplomatic brawl with Britain.
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