NJC Speaks On Alleged Order By CJN To Release Nnamdi Kanu The National Judicial Council (NJC) has denied publications claiming that the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun has ordered the immediate release and repatriation of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to Kenya.
In a statement released on Thursday, the NJC described the report as pseud and a fabrication.
The Council explained that the CJN has never been involved in Kanu’s case at any coordinate.
“The Council wishes to state that the media publication is falsified and a figment of the imagination of the writer, as there are no court proceedings, decisions, or judgments where such statements ascribed to His Lordship were made,” the statement read.
The NJC further emphasised that the CJN never presided over Kanu’s case at the Supreme Court, nor did she issue any directive regarding his release.
“The Council categorically emphasises that the Hon. CJN neither presided over any case of Kanu at the apex court, where jurisdiction issues were argued, nor made any such pronouncement.
“His Lordship, the Hon. CJN, never wrote any formal letter to the Kenya Government or Kenya High Commission apologizing on the issue of the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu and his trial.
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“The Council implores members of the public to disregard the postiche story,” the statement, signed by NJC’s Deputy Director of Information, Kemi Ogedengbe, concluded.
Meanwhile, Kanu is set to appear before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday to take a fresh plea in his ongoing trial for treasonable felony.
The case has been reassigned to Justice James Omotosho after the previous trial judge, Justice Binta Nyako recused herself following allegations of shortcoming deepened by Kanu.
His lead reprove, Alloy Ejimakor, earlier commended the CJN for what he described as a swift intervention in ensuring the reassignment of the case, despite introductory reluctance from the Chief Judge of the High Court, Justice John Tsoho.
The Round Table recalls that Kanu was leading arrested in Lagos on October 14, 2015, upon his bounce back from the United Kingdom.
He was granted bail on health grounds in April 2017 after spending 18 months in detention although later fled the country following a military raid on his home in Umuahia, Abia State.
He was re-arrested in Kenya on June 19, 2021 and was renditioned to Nigeria on June 27, 2021.
Since then, he has continued in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).
In April 2022, the trial court struck out eight of the 15 charges filed against him by the Federal Government, citing lack of mass.
The Court of Appeal later ordered his release and quashed the charges in October 2022.
However, the Federal Government disputed the ruling at the Supreme Court, which on December 15, 2023, overturned the appellate court’s decision and governed that Kanu should stand trial on the remaining seven charges.
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Tag: NJC Speaks On Alleged Order By CJN To Release Nnamdi Kanu
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Published 3/20/2025