FG insists Nnamdi Kanu discharged, not acquitted

Indication has emerged that all may not be over for Nnamdi Kanu, the acclaimed leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) movement, as the Federal Government has said that Kanu has only been discharged and not acquitted.

Recall that the Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Thursday, quashed the terrorism charge the Federal Government brought against Kanu.

Justice Jummai Hanatu, who led a three-man panel said the panel was satisfied that FG flagrantly violated the law, when it forcefully rendered Kanu from Kenya to the country for the continuation of his trial.

The court held that the rendition, without adherence to due process of the law, was a gross violation of all international conventions, protocols and guidelines that Nigeria is signatory to, as well as a breach of the Appellant’s fundamental human rights.

However, a statement signed on Thursday by, Dr Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, stated that: “The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has received the news of the decision of the Court of Appeal concerning the trial of Nnamdi Kanu. For the avoidance of doubt and by the verdict of the Court, Kanu was only discharged and not acquitted.

“Consequently, the appropriate legal options before the authorities will be exploited and communicated accordingly to the public.

“The decision handed down by the court of appeal was on a single issue that borders on rendition.”