A lawyer representing the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, Onyedikachi Ifedi, has accused the judiciary of frustrating his client’s appeal against his conviction and life imprisonment.
Ifedi, in a statement dated September 10, 2026, alleged that the Court of Appeal had failed to list Kanu’s appeal despite the defence having raised what he described as fundamental questions about the legality of the conviction.
Kanu was convicted by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja on November 20, 2025, and sentenced to life imprisonment on multiple terrorism-related counts. He subsequently filed an appeal challenging the conviction.
Ifedi also alleged that the Federal Government had failed to file its respondent’s brief within the stipulated period.
“The Federal Government filed nothing. Time expired. No brief. No living section. No defence,” he stated.
The lawyer said the failure to list the appeal could not be attributed merely to delay or congestion, alleging that the legal issues raised by Kanu’s defence required judicial determination.
He also challenged the legal basis of the conviction, alleging that Justice Omotosho relied on the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act 2013, which he said had been repealed before judgment was delivered.
Ifedi argued that the applicable legislation was the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 and that its transitional provisions should have guided the proceedings.
Kanu had similarly argued in his February 2026 notice of appeal that the trial court erred by convicting him under the 2013 terrorism law despite its repeal by the 2022 legislation.
The lawyer further questioned the Supreme Court’s handling of counts that had previously been quashed, alleging that the apex court lacked jurisdiction to revive them and send them back for trial.
He also criticised the Court of Appeal’s earlier handling of Kanu’s custody, alleging that the appellate court had discharged him before a subsequent stay of execution prevented his release.
Ifedi said the contrast between the speed with which the court had acted in the earlier proceedings and the delay in listing the current appeal raised questions that required answers.
He further disclosed that Kanu, who had indicated his intention to conduct his appeal personally, had prepared a 115-page handwritten appellant’s brief while in custody.
According to Ifedi, the brief raises eight issues based on constitutional provisions, Supreme Court decisions and the transitional provisions of the 2022 terrorism legislation.
The lawyer therefore called on the Court of Appeal to list the case and allow the parties to argue the legal issues surrounding Kanu’s conviction.
“Why has the Court of Appeal refused to list the appeal?” he asked. “Why did the Federal Government file nothing before time expired?”“And what living Act, and what section, governed the conviction of 20 November 2025?”
The latest allegations come as Kanu’s appeal against his conviction remains pending before the Court of Appeal. Recent reporting has also indicated that his family has raised concerns over the delay in listing the appeal and the alleged failure of the Federal Government to file its response.
