The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, is to remain in detention.
The Supreme Court, Friday, upheld the appeal by the federal government, challenging the Court of Appeal decision, which ordered Kanu’s release.
The apex court ordered him to return to the Federal High Court, Abuja, to face his seven-count of terrorism.
The apex court in October fixed the date after counsel for both the federal government and the detained IPOB leader adopted their final briefs of argument.
Chief Mike Ozehkome, SAN, who argued the appeal prayed the court to not only order the immediate release of his client from detention but to equally award very heavy and punitive costs against the Federal Government.
He prayed the court to allow FG’s appeal, set aside the judgement of the Court of Appeal which ordered Kanu’s release, and order the resumption of his trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja on terrorism-related charges.
Gazzali further urged the apex court to dismiss Kanu’s cross-appeal.
On October 13, 2022, the Court of Appeal Abuja delivered a judgement ordering Kanu’s release from detention.
The court ruled that he was abducted, ill-treated, and “illegally moved” from Kenya to Nigeria to face treason and terrorism charges.
The judges dismissed the criminal case but Nigerian prosecutors have appealed and Kanu, who is in his mid-50s, remains in custody.
Kanu, a former London estate agent who also runs the outlawed Radio Biafra station, was first arrested in 2015 but jumped bail two years later, reappearing in the UK and Israel.
The Nigerian government has banned IPOB as a terrorist organisation, accusing it of stoking ethnic tensions by claiming genocide against Igbo.
CNN International’s magazine programme, African Voices Playmakers, this weekend highlights the contributions of Late Congolese-American National Basketball Association (NBA) Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo as a humanitarian icon and mentor of young basketball players on the continent. The programme is bankrolled by data solutions provider, Globacom.
Full name Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukaba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo, he was known simply by his moniker ‘Mount Mutombo’ because of his defensive dexterity. He was born on June 25, 1966, in the Democratic Republic of Congo and studied Medicine at Georgetown University in America. He, however, chose to follow his passion for basketball, playing for 18 remarkable seasons in the NBA.
Dikembe created the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation to improve the living condition of his folks in the DRC. Unfortunately, he lost his fierce battle with brain cancer in September, 2024 at the age of 58.
He however remains a beacon of light to youngsters of African descent on the pitch. This new generation of African basketball players who enjoyed his tutelage include his son, Ryan, his two nephews and other youngsters from the continent two of whom are rising NBA stars, Yves Missi and Josh Okogie.
Both 20-year-old Missi, a Cameroonian professional basketball player with the New Orleans Pelicans, and 26-year-old Nigerian-American shooting guard, Okojie, who plays for the Charlotte Hornets in the United States of America will talk about Dikembe’s influence and their successful careers so far in international basketball.
The 30-minute show will be on air on DSTV Channel 401 at 7.30 a.m. on Saturday with a repeat the same day at 11 a.m. On Sunday, other repeats will be broadcast at 3.30 a.m. and 6.p.m. and on Monday at 3.00 a.m. Further repeats come up at 7.30 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Saturday next week; Sunday at 4.30 a.m. and 7 p.m. and on Monday at 4 a.m.
The Supreme Court has affirmed Samuel Nnaemeka Anyanwu as the authentic National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
The five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Musa Awani Abba-Aji, in a judgment on Friday, overturned the decision of the Court of Appeal, Enugu division, that upheld Chief Sunday Udo Okoye as PDP National Secretary.
In its decision, the Supreme Court supported Anyanwu’s assertion that both the Court of Appeal and the trial court in Enugu overstepped their jurisdiction, as the case pertained to the internal matters of the PDP.
A human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, has described as illegal the decision of President Bola Tinubu to suspend Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for a period of six months.
In a statement made available to the media, the senior lawyer said the President’s decision cannot be justified under any of the provisions of the 320 sections of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended.
While recognizing that Section 305 of the Constitution empowers the President to take extraordinary measures to restore law and order if there is an actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the Federation, Falana argued that the extraordinary measures which may be adopted by the President to restore peace and security do not include the suspension of an elected Governor, an elected Deputy Governor, and the dissolution of other democratic structures.
He, therefore, called on the President to follow the path of constitutionalism without any delay and to proceed to reinstate the suspended Governor Fubara and Deputy Governor Odu and restore all democratic structures in Rivers State.
The learned silk said: “This call is without prejudice to the duty imposed on the President to adopt extraordinary measures to restore law and order in Rivers State under Governor Fubara in strict compliance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.”
Below is the full statement
ILLEGALITY OF DISSOLUTION OF ELECTED DEMOCRATIC STRUCTURES IN NIGERIA
The decision of President Bola Tinubu to suspend Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months is illegal as it cannot be justified under any of the provisions of the 320 sections of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended.
No doubt, Section 305 of the Constitution empowers the President to take extraordinary measures to restore law and order if, among other reasons, there is actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the Federation or any part thereof to such extent as to require extraordinary measures to restore peace and security or there is a clear and present danger of an actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the Federation or any part thereof requiring extraordinary measures to avert such danger.
But, the extraordinary measures which may be adopted by the President to restore peace and security in the Federation or in any particular State does not include the suspension of an elected Governor, an elected Deputy Governor and the dissolution of other democratic structures. For the avoidance of doubt, section 45(3) of the Constitution provides that a ‘period of emergency’ means “any period during which there is in force a Proclamation of a state of emergency declared by the President in exercise of the powers conferred on him under section 305 of this Constitution.”
Thus, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, the office of an elected governor can only become vacant upon death, ill health, resignation, or impeachment. Even where the office of the Governor becomes vacant for any reason whatsoever, the Deputy Governor shall be sworn in as the Governor.
And where the offices of the Governor and Deputy Governor become vacant at the same time, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly shall become an Acting Governor for not more than 3 months. During the 3-month period, a fresh election shall be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the election of a new governor.
It is pertinent to state that the failure of a House of Assembly to function in Rivers State can not be a justification for the dissolution of democratic structures in any State of the Federation. Indeed, the Constitution had envisaged that a State House of Assembly may not be able to function due to one reason or another. Hence, section 11(4) of the Constitution stipulates as follows:
“At any time when any House of Assembly of a State is unable to perform its functions by reason of the situation prevailing in that State, the National Assembly may make such laws for the peace, order and good government of that State with respect to matters on which a House of Assembly to be necessary or expedient until such time as the House of Assembly is able to resume its functions; and any such laws enacted by the National Assembly pursuant to this section shall have effect as if they were laws enacted by the House of Assembly of the State:
Provided that nothing in this section shall be construed as conferring on the National Assembly power to remove the Governor or the Deputy Governor of the State from office.”
In 2004 and 2006, we condemned the illegal dissolution of democratic structures when President Olusegun Obasanjo imposed emergency rules on Plateau State and Ekiti State, respectively. Regrettably, on both occasions, the Supreme Court refused to determine the constitutional validity of the dissolution of democratic structures on the ground that the suit were procedurally incompetent because they were instituted during the six-month emergency period by the suspended legislators in the name of Plateau State without the authorization of the Sole Administration of the state!
However, in 2013, when a state of emergency was declared in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States by former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan, we urged him to reject the pressure mounted on by anti democratic forces to remove the elected Governors and dissolve democratic structures in the affected States. President Jonathan followed the path of constitutionalism.
Tinubu, Fubara, and Wike
In 2021, the then Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami SAN announced the plan of the federal government to declare a state of emergency in Anambra State over insecurity and threat to a complete breakdown of law and order in that part of the Federation We advised President Buhari not to demolish democratic structures even if emergency rule was imposed on the state. President Buhari followed the path of constituionalism.
In the cases of Adegbenro vs. Attorney-General of the Federation (1962) 1 NLR 338 F.R.A. Williams V Dr. M.A. Majekodunmi (1962) 1 NLR 328 the Supreme Court of Nigeria validated the Emergency Powers Act 1961 to justify the dissolution of democratic structures as well as suspension of fundamental human rights in western region. As there is no equivalent of the Emergency Powers Act 1961 under the current constitutional dispensation, the suspension of an elected Governor by an elected President is a constitutional anomaly under the 1999 Constitution.
In Attorney General of the Federation v. Attorney General of Abia State & Ors (2024) LPELR-62576 (SC) filed by the Bola Tinubu administration, the Supreme Court of Nigeria held that the removal of elected chairmen and councilors as well as appointment of sole administrators or caretaker committees by State Governors to run local government councils are illegal and unconstitutional. It follows to reason that the suspension of elected governors and elected members of the House of Assembly by the President is illegal and unconstitutional in every material particular.
To that extent, a serving or retired military officer can not be imposed as a Sole Administrator to govern any state in Nigeria. Similarly, a military officer cannot be appointed by the National Assembly as a Sole Administrator to govern the Nigerian people during a war between Nigeria and another country.
In the Speaker, Bauchi State House of Assembly v Hon Rifkatu Danna (2017) 49 WRN 82 and several other cases, Nigerian Courts have held that the suspension of elected legislators is illegal and unconstitutional. Therefore, the National Assembly should not endorse the illegal suspension of the Rivers State legislators that have not defected from the People’s Democratic Party to the All Progressive Congress. Instead of approving the illegal dissolution of democratic structures in Rivers State, the National Assembly should assist Governor Fubara by invoking its powers under section 11 (4) of the Constitution “to make laws for the peace, order and good government of that State”
Therefore, we are compelled to call on President Bola Tinubu to follow the path of constituionalism without any delay. The President should proceed to reinstate the suspended Governor Fubara and Deputy Governor Odu and restore all democratic structures in Rivers State. This call is without prejudice to the duty imposed on the President to adopt extraordinary measures to restore law and order in Rivers State under Governor Fubara in strict compliance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended.