By Edna Ezinneamaka Onunaku
IPOB’s Lead Counsel, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor on Friday allayed the fears of the publicised new 7-Count amended charge allegedly filed against the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who has remained in police custody for over a year
On its verified Twitter handle, @Ejioforbar, on Friday, wrote to teeming supporters saying;
“UMUCHINEKE should never lose sleep over this new phantom charge by the grace of God, we are equal to the task in tackling any antics from the prosecutor,” he asserted”
“From all indications, the new alleged charge has the same Charge No. FHC/ABJ/ER/383/2015, as the one already pronounced upon and struck out by the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division.”
“The said intermediate court completely discharged Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu; and further prohibited his being tried or prosecuted in any court of law in Nigeria,” he stated.
“The said judgment of the Court of Appeal is extant and still subsists till date; and has not been set aside by any superior court. Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s formidable team ably by the Oracle of the Law – Chief Ozekhome SAN – has already promptly appealed to the Supreme Court against the Court of Appeal’s ruling staying execution of its own judgment which had set Kanu free.
The Appeal in respect thereto has been duly entered in Appeal No. SC/CR/1394/2022, at the Supreme Court, and is now awaiting a date for hearing,” Ejiofor further stated.
The Lead Counsel maintained that the judgment of the Court of Appeal still stands till date as same has not been set aside by the Supreme Court. He said,
“It is imperative to state therefore that on the strength of this judgment, no CHARGE of whatever nature, and under any guise, can ever be presented or stand against Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu before any court of law in Nigeria.”
Ejiofor accused the Federal Government of surreptitiously and clandestinely filing charge hours after the judgment of the Court of Appeal was delivered on the 13th Day of October, 2022. He pointed out that it was even before it had received a certified true copy of the said judgment of the Court of Appeal.
“The filing of the said charge was clearly ill-informed and ill-advised, because the Prosecutor (Federal Government), we presume and may want to believe, was not at that point in time aware of the details, full import and implication, of the well delivered judgment of the Court of Appeal, at the time of filing the said charge,” Ejiofor stated.
“We also want to believe that this is what has led to Federal Government’s abandonment of the charge after it was hurriedly filed,” he said.
Noting that the Federal Government did not take any step to either serve the charge on the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu or on Chief Mike Ozekhome, after it was filed, Ejiofor assured his supporters that his legal team will be in court on Monday, the 14th of November, 2022 to tackle any underhand tactics or results the Federal Government may have planned to achieve by sleight of hand, with a charge which, he said, “has been pronounced dead like “dodo”; and permanently buried.”
