Nnamdi Kanu’s camp raises alarm over Supreme Court’s failure to release copies of judgment 33 days after.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Aloy Ejimakor, special counsel to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has decried the failure of the Supreme Court to release the certified true copies (CTC) of its judgment made last year.
On December 15, 2023, the apex court ordered the continuation of Kanu’s trial on terrorism charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The case which started in 2015 had been put on hold at the Abuja court after the Court of Appeal dismissed the charges in a judgment delivered in October 2022 on the illegality of the “extraordinary rendition” of Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021 to continue his trial.
But the appellate court ordered a stay of execution of its own judgment after the Federal Government took the case to the Supreme Court.
Reacting to the Supreme Court’s refusal to release the CTC of its judgment on Kanu, Mr Ejimakor said in a statement on Wednesday made available to TheNiche: “Today makes it Thirty-Three (33) days after Supreme Court delivered the final judgment in the case of Federal Republic of Nigeria versus Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
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“Following the delivery of said judgment on 15th December 2023, applications were filed for the release of Certified True Copies (CTC) of the Judgment and the enrolled Order. But to this day, the Supreme Court is yet to comply.
“This failure to release the said CTC is a flagrant violation of the Constitution that entitles Nnamdi Kanu to be issued copies of the judgement within seven days of the delivery of the judgment on 15th December 2023. It is a fundamental right and thus enforceable.
“Section 36 (7) of the Constitution provides that: ‘When any person is tried for any criminal offence, the court or tribunal shall keep a record of the proceedings and the accused person or any persons authorised by him in that behalf shall be entitled to obtain copies of the judgement in the case within seven days of the conclusion of the case.’
“It will be recalled that the Supreme Court had, in the said judgment, ordered that the case be remitted to the Federal High Court for consideration of a trial.
“To be sure, the Federal High Court cannot proceed with consideration of any trial without the certified judgment and enrolled order. Similarly, Kanu’s lawyers cannot proceed with his defense without the CTC of the said judgment and the order.”