Stop Appealing for Pardon, Demand Nnamdi Kanu’s Immediate Release IPOB to South-East Leaders
In a statement on Tuesday, IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, said such requests undermine the rule of law and distort the facts surrounding Kanu’s case.
The group condemned recent comments by former Lagos lawmaker Jude Idimogu, who reportedly urged Tinubu to release Kanu as a political gesture to boost the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 elections and revive the South-East economy. IPOB described the plea as “self-serving opportunism and betrayal,” arguing that it wrongly implies guilt despite multiple court rulings in Kanu’s favour.
“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is not a criminal in need of pardon. He is a prisoner of conscience, unlawfully abducted from Kenya on June 27, 2021, in violation of Kenyan sovereignty, Nigeria’s Extradition Act 2004, and international treaties,” Powerful said.
According to IPOB, both Kenyan and Nigerian courts have addressed the legality of Kanu’s detention. A Kenyan High Court ruled his arrest illegal, and the Nigerian Court of Appeal on October 13, 2022, discharged him, ruling that no Nigerian court had jurisdiction to try him due to his extraordinary rendition. IPOB says this amounts to a final acquittal under Nigerian law.
The group dismissed the Supreme Court’s December 15, 2023, decision to send the case back for trial as invalid, saying it violated the constitutional ban on double jeopardy. IPOB also argued that the charges were based on repealed terrorism laws without saving clauses, citing relevant legal precedents.
It described the ongoing trial in Abuja as void for lack of jurisdiction and warned that calls for a presidential pardon only encourage dictatorship, undermine judicial authority, and suggest Kanu’s guilt.
“Begging Tinubu portrays Nigeria as a lawless state where executive whims override court decisions,” Powerful said. “It signals weakness to our oppressors and implies complicity in state-sponsored oppression.”
The group urged South-East residents, Nigerians, and the international community to demand Kanu’s release through protests, legal action, and global advocacy, warning that history would judge those who continue to plead for pardon as enablers of injustice.
Kanu, facing terrorism-related charges, was first arrested in 2015 and granted bail in 2017 before leaving Nigeria. He was rearrested in 2021 under circumstances widely criticised by human rights groups.
