IPOB Urges Court to Dismiss Charges Against Nnamdi Kanu, Citing Repealed Law and Double Jeopardy

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has called on the Federal High Court in Abuja to strike out the ongoing charges against its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, arguing that the case is based on a repealed law and violates the constitutional principle of double jeopardy.

In a statement released on Tuesday, IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, stated that the charges were rooted in the repealed Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act 2013, which was replaced by the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act (TPPA) 2022, effective from May 22, 2022.

“No court within the common law system can entertain a case based on repealed legislation,” the statement read. “Doing so violates legal standards and the doctrine of double jeopardy.”

IPOB cited relevant legal authorities and constitutional provisions to bolster its position, including:

• Section 249(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, which interprets a discharge by the Court of Appeal as an acquittal;

• Section 36(9) of the 1999 Constitution, which prohibits retrial of a person for an offence they have already been acquitted of;

• The Court of Appeal’s ruling on October 13, 2022, which discharged and acquitted Kanu;

• The case of FRN v. Saraki (2018) 16 NWLR (Pt. 1646) 433, which underscores that a jurisdictional discharge is equivalent to a final acquittal.

IPOB also criticized the Supreme Court’s later reversal of the acquittal, claiming it failed to address the legal defect stemming from the repealed statute.

“The charges currently under trial were initiated under a law that ceased to exist as of May 2022. In AG Federation v. AG Abia State (2002), the Supreme Court held that courts cannot breathe life into repealed statutes,” the group stated.

They further cited Section 6(3) of the Interpretation Act 2004, which states that when a law is repealed, pending proceedings are terminated unless a saving clause is included — which, in this case, IPOB claims does not exist.

The group reiterated its demand for Justice Kolawole Omotosho of the Federal High Court to respect the legal precedents and dismiss the charges against Kanu.