Nnamdi Kanu Threatens To Approach IBA Over Alleged Judicial Infractions
The Global Defence Consortium of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has issued a stern warning to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the National Judicial Council (NJC), and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), cautioning that their continued silence over alleged judicial misconduct in Kanu’s trial will trigger international escalation.
In a statement signed by Barrister Onyedikachi Ifedi, the consortium said the petition presented at the NBA Annual Conference in Enugu called for “an immediate halt to the unlawful persecution of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu” and demanded “a transparent investigation of some judges “for gross and egregious violations of judicial oath.”
The group accused the judges of delivering unconstitutional rulings. According to the statement, the judges allegedly “sustained charges based on repealed laws—the repealed Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act 2013 and the repealed Customs and Excise Management Act 1958—thereby violating the Principle of Legality (Nullum crimen sine lege).”
It further alleged that they “endorsed an unlawful rendition in violation of Nigeria’s Constitution, the Extradition Act, the African Charter and international treaties,” and “violated Section 36 of the Constitution on fair hearing and double jeopardy.”
While the NBA, NJC, and NHRC have not responded to this allegation which has continued to be raised by Nnamdi Kanu, the consortium warned that such silence could not be interpreted as neutrality.
“The NBA, NJC, and NHRC have maintained a disturbing silence. This silence is not neutrality—it is complicity,” the statement read.
Reaffirming its position, the group stressed that the Nigerian Constitution remains supreme. “No court, not even the Supreme Court, has the power to resurrect a repealed law,” it declared.
“No judiciary bound by its oath can endorse the illegal abduction and rendition of a citizen and still claim to act under the rule of law.”
The consortium described Kanu’s continued prosecution as a violation of his rights stressing that, “The continued persecution of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in defiance of his prior discharge amounts to double jeopardy and a flagrant violation of the Constitution.”
The group said that unless urgent action is taken, it will escalate the matter to the International Bar Association (IBA).
“If they continue to ignore these infractions, we shall formally petition the International Bar Association (IBA) to suspend Nigeria from membership until the petition is transparently investigated, and to hold Nigeria accountable for weaponising its judiciary against political opponents,” the statement warned.
Barrister Ifedi stressed the international implications of the case, “Nigeria cannot remain a member in good standing of the international legal community while its judiciary aids persecution through unconstitutional rulings.
“The credibility of the legal profession is on the line. Justice delayed is justice denied. Silence in the face of injustice is an endorsement of oppression,” he added.
Nnamdi Kanu Threatens To Approach IBA Over Alleged Judicial Infractions is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
