Chief Mike Ozekhome, the lead counsel for Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, filed an appeal with the Supreme Court on Friday, requesting the court’s intervention to overturn the order halting Kanu’s release.
Ozekhome argued that the Federal Government had failed to implement the Court of Appeal’s decision, which granted a stay of execution for the same court’s October 13, 2022, judgment.
Ifeanyi Ejiofor, IPOB’s lead lawyer, said in a statement on Friday that the Federal Government “went back to sleep and ostensibly abandoned its appeal” after obtaining “this unprecedented reprehensible order for stay.”
Ejiofor also mentioned that Kanu’s legal team had submitted an appeal to the Supreme Court, “wherein we are seeking the intervention of the apex court to set aside the order staying the execution of Onyendu’s judgment,” and that this appeal had been filed with the court.
“We also filed a cross-appeal with the Supreme Court to determine relevant fundamental issues relating to the Court of Appeal’s decision.Ejiofor continued, “However, the Federal Government has yet to file any processes in response thereto.”
Saturday PUNCH obtained a copy of the appeal on Friday with the following heading:CA/ABJ/CR/625/2022, which was signed by Ozekhome’s legal team for Kanu.
The suit states that Kanu wants “an order of this Honourable Court striking out and/or dismissing the Respondent’s Appeal No:SC/CR/1361/2022, for the inability to diligently prosecute.
“An order of this Honourable Court setting down the Applicant’s cross-appeal for hearing, and for such additional order(s) this Honourable Court may deem fit in the circumstances of this case.”
The team argued that the respondent had only ten days to file and serve the appellant’s brief of argument following service of the record of appeal under Section 6 (1) of the Supreme Court (Criminal Appeals) Practice Direction 2013.
The applicant is authorized to submit the immediate application by Order 2 Rule 29 (1) and (2) and Order 6 Rule 9 of the Supreme Court Rules, as amended in 2014.
On November 2, 2022, the parties were served with the appeal’s record.The respondent’s deadline to submit its Appellant’s Brief under the Fast Track Rules of this Honourable Court has passed.
“The Respondent does not pursue its appeal with diligence.”The Rules and Practice Directions of this Honourable Court are designed to ensure that criminal appeals are handled fairly, impartially, and quickly, particularly in cases involving terrorism, rape, kidnapping, corruption, money laundering, and human trafficking.
“The Respondent which obtained an order of stay of execution of the judgment of the lower court, on the basis of this appeal, has not demonstrated any good faith in prosecuting the said appeal “Owing to the pendency of the instant appeal, the Applicant who was discharged by the lower court on October 13, 2022, is still in the custody of the Appellant/Respondent’s State Security Service, where he has been held in solitary confinement since the June 29, 2021,” a portion