The Court of Appeal in Abuja has reserved judgment in an appeal filed by detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
A three-member panel, headed by Justice Jummai Hanatu, after entertaining the final submissions by lawyers to the parties yesterday, said a date for judgment would be communicated to them later.
The panel said it was unnecessary to consider the issue of bail for the appellant since the substantive appeal was ripe for hearing.
Kanu is, by the appeal, seeking to quash the criminal charge for which he is being tried before a Federal High Court in Abuja for alleged terrorism and treasonable felony.
He prayed the appellate court to review the April 8 ruling delivered by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, which struck out eight of the 15 counts in the charge.
Kanu also prayed the court to quash the raining counts and discharge him.
Arguing the appeal yesterday, Kanu’s lead lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), claimed that his client was forcefully abducted from Kenya and illegally extradited to the country.
Ozekhome, who gave a brief history of his client’s trial, said he was first arraigned on December 23, 2015 and granted bail on April 25, 2017.
The lawyer argued that by the Doctrine of Specialty under Section 15 of the Extradition Act, the Federal Government ought to have proceeded to try Kanu on the five-count charge he was initially facing before he escaped from the country.
He contended that Kenya should also have authorised his extradition.
(THENATION)
