Court cancels Nnamdi Kanu's N20bn trial

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday quashed a N20 billion lawsuit brought by the leader of the Proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, against the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami .

Mr. Kanu, through his lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, had filed a lawsuit demanding N20 billion in damages for his illegal restitution of Kenya to continue facing his charges of terrorism and treason in June last year.

The illegality of restitution was the basis of the Abuja Court of Appeal's decision to dismiss the charges against Mr. Kanu on October 13.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr. Kanu had prosecuted Mr. Malami and the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Abubakar, as the 1st and 2nd defendants respectively.

The judge, Inyang Ekwo, however, struck out the lawsuit after I.C. Nworgu, who appeared for the head of the IPOB, told the court that the plaintiff decided to withdraw his complaint.

Mr. Nworg said the notice of discontinuance had already been filed.

The claim, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1702/2022, was filed pursuant to Order 50, Rules 2(1) of the FHC Rules of Civil Procedure, 2019.

NAN reports that Mr. Ekwo had set Friday for the trial hearing on October 27.

The petition, dated and filed on September 23, sought "a statement that the arrest and imprisonment of the plaintiff (Kanu) by the defendants at a place in Kenya and the subsequent imprisonment of the plaintiff on the plane who transported him from Kenya to Nigeria amounted to a false arrest and false imprisonment.

"A declaration by this honorable court that the defendants acted in bad faith and/or abused their public functions by wrongfully arresting and imprisoning the plaintiff at said place in Kenya and on said aircraft.

“An order of this Honorable Court ordering the Defendants, jointly and severally, to pay the Plaintiff the sum of N20,000,000,000.00 (Twenty Billion Naira only) in general and exemplary damages.< /p>

"An order of this honorable court directing the defendants to write and separately deliver to the plaintiff a personal letter of unqualified apology."

He urged the court to order the defendants to deliver to him letters of apology "prominently and boldly published in full-page form in two Nigerian newspapers with national circulation".

He also sought a court order ordering the defendants to pay the cost of the lawsuit, among other things.

Context

Mr. Kanu fled the country in September 2017 after an army invasion of his home in Afara-Ukwu, near Umuahia, Abia State.

The federal government arrested and brought Mr. Kanu back to Nigeria in June last year.

He was returned to Nigeria to continue to face charges stemming from his pending separatist activities against him.

The Federal High Court in Abuja, where Mr. Kanu is on trial, ordered his custody in the State Security Service (SSS).

But a three-member Court of Appeal panel led by Oludotun Adefope-Okojie on October 13 dismissed terrorism and treason charges against the IPOB chief.

The court had ordered the release of Mr. Kanu after striking out a seven-count charge pending before Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Mr. Adefope-Okojie found that the forced extradition of Mr. Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021 was a violation of local and international laws.

Instead of complying with the decision of the appeals court ordering the unconditional release of Mr. Kanu, the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF)