A lawyer and member of the Mazi Nnamdi Kanu Defence Consortium, Barrister Christopher Chidera, has accused the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) of relying on propaganda to conceal what he described as “illegalities” surrounding the conviction of Nnamdi Kanu.
Chidera made the claim in a statement on Monday, criticising the silence of Nigeria’s leading legal institutions and some prominent Nigerians over what he termed the unlawful conviction and continued detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.
According to the lawyer, Kanu ought not to have been prosecuted, let alone convicted, under the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act, 2013, TPAA, which he said had already been repealed by the National Assembly.
He said, “The case of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is not as complicated as the government of Nigeria and Britain would like the world to believe.
“The National Assembly of Nigeria killed the old terrorism law, Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act, 2013 (TPAA), under which Nnamdi Kanu was charged and convicted. The trial judge pretended it was still alive even though he knew it was dead.
“That is illegal because Nigerian law, s.122 (2)(a) Evidence Act, says a judge who pretends a dead law is still alive is doing so illegally, he is breaking the law.
“NBA, NJC and a few reasonable people know the truth, but they are hoping the noisy propaganda surrounding Kanu’s conviction will bury it.”
Chidera stressed that the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act, 2013, TPAA, can no longer be used to convict anyone.
He said, “In 2022, Nigeria passed a new terrorism law. At the same time, the National Assembly in Abuja scrapped the old terrorism laws from 2011 and 2013.
“Scrapped means dead. Dead laws cannot jail people. This is important to note because the Constitution of Nigeria says so.
“NBA knows this, NJC knows, judges know, lawyers know this basic law. Why are they silent?”
The lawyer further stated that even the trial judge acknowledged that the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act, 2013, TPAA, had been repealed.
He explained, “Any old cases must move forward under the new law. This means that Kanu should be tried under the current written law, the TPPA. Not under the repealed TPAA.
“Nothing already done before repeal is erased. But new decisions must follow the new law. The trial judge said he was ensuring a ‘smooth transition’ from the old law (TPAA) to the new law (TPPA).
“He never transitioned anywhere. He never tried Nnamdi Kanu under the new law, TPPA, as the law commanded.
“Charges should have been under the 2022 law. The trial should have followed the 2022 rules. The punishment should come from the 2022 law. None of this happened.
“He convicted and sentenced Kanu using the dead 2013 law. He ignored the new law completely. This is deliberate bending of the law to get a conviction. A judge cannot jail a man using a law Parliament has buried.”
Chidera warned that allowing the judgment to stand would set a dangerous precedent for Nigerians.
“Any judge can resurrect any old law. Parliament becomes useless. The Constitution becomes decoration. Today it is Kanu. Tomorrow it can be anyone.
“This is about law versus lawlessness. A court that convicts under a dead law is not doing justice. It is committing fraud in a robe. If Nigerians accept this, then nobody is safe,” he warned.
