The defence team of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has alleged irregularities in his trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Kanu opened his defence before Justice James Omotosho on Friday after earlier insisting that the court must state the specific law backing the charges. The court fixed November 20 for judgment.
Briefing journalists after the session, a member of Kanu’s Global Defence Team, Onyedikachi Ifedi, Esq., said the IPOB leader repeatedly asked the judge to identify the written law creating the alleged offence but claimed the court did not give a clear answer.
“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu asked the court to state the specific written law creating the alleged offence,” Ifedi said.
“No such law was cited. The court moved on without addressing the request.”
He explained that the defence relied on Section 36(12) of the 1999 Constitution which states that a person cannot be convicted of a criminal offence unless the offence and its penalty are clearly set out in a written law.
Ifedi also alleged that a repealed law was used in framing part of the charge. He said the defence filed a motion to remove Kanu’s plea from the court record on that ground, but claimed the court did not rule on the issue in detail.
The lawyer further raised concern that the court announced it would not take final written addresses from both sides before delivering judgment.
“Final written addresses are a normal and important part of trial,” he said.
“Skipping them raises questions about fair hearing.”
Ifedi added that Kanu told the court that his reliance was on the Constitution and not on any discretionary interpretation.
He said the defence issued the briefing in the public interest, to ensure that the concerns raised in court were properly documented.
