{"id":7481,"date":"2025-09-27T21:49:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T21:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/?p=7481"},"modified":"2025-09-27T21:49:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T21:49:09","slug":"kanus-trial-ipob-condemns-justice-omotoshos-ruling-for-kanu-to-explain-certain-things-in-his-broadcasts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/2025\/09\/27\/kanus-trial-ipob-condemns-justice-omotoshos-ruling-for-kanu-to-explain-certain-things-in-his-broadcasts\/","title":{"rendered":"Kanu’s trial : IPOB condemns justice Omotosho’s ruling for Kanu to explain certain things in his broadcasts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Our Correspondent<\/div>\n
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Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has condemned in strong terms the ruling of an Abuja High court Presided over by Hon.Justice James Omotosho, that its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has to explain certain things in his broadcasts, describing it as unethical and unlawful.<\/div>\n
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In a statement by a human rights Lawyer\/Public Advocate, Barr. Christopher Chidera, and made available to newsmen by the IPOB spokesperson,\u00a0 Emma Powerful, the release read in part thus: \u201d This decision departs sharply from established legal principles and underscores a troubling trend of prioritizing executive interests over justice in Nigeria\u2019s courts.<\/div>\n
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“The Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 mandates that a no-case submission requires a court to evaluate both the charge and the sufficiency of the prosecution\u2019s evidence. Justice Omotosho\u2019s ruling, however, fixated solely on the charge sheet, disregarding the prosecution\u2019s evidence, which collapsed under cross-examination due to glaring inconsistencies.<\/div>\n
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“This approach defies Supreme Court precedents, which require judges to assess whether prosecution witnesses have been sufficiently discredited. By sidestepping this duty, the court undermines the integrity of the judicial process.<\/div>\n
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“Equally alarming is Justice Omotosho\u2019s failure to address the prosecution\u2019s reliance on the repealed Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act 2013. Section 122 of the Evidence Act 2011 obliges courts to take judicial notice of repealed laws. Prosecuting under a defunct statute is not a mere technicality, it renders the entire case a legal nullity.<\/div>\n
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“This oversight calls into question the court\u2019s jurisdiction and its commitment to the rule of law.<\/div>\n
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“Violation of Constitutional Protections Section 36(11) of the Nigerian Constitution unequivocally protects against self-incrimination, ensuring no accused person is compelled to prove their innocence. By ruling that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu \u201chas a case to answer\u201d despite the absence of a credible investigation report or substantive evidence, the court improperly shifts the burden of proof onto the accused.<\/div>\n
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“This is a grave violation of constitutional safeguards and sets a dangerous precedent for fair trial rights. Collectively, these errors reveal a disturbing pattern: the judiciary in Abuja appears more committed to sustaining a politically motivated trial than upholding justice. Courts must serve as impartial arbiters, not as instruments of executive will,” IPOB posited.<\/div>\n
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It stated that this ruling erodes public confidence in Nigeria\u2019s judicial system and its adherence to due process and urged the public to call on the<\/div>\n
Court of Appeal to swiftly review and rectify these egregious legal errors.<\/div>\n
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The release added that Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and National Judicial Council (NJC) should investigate recurring lapses in judicial adherence to law and due process in this case.<\/div>\n
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It went further to urge the international community and human rights organizations to monitor Nigeria\u2019s ongoing violations of fair trial standards under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples\u2019 Rights.<\/div>\n
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According to it, “A trial founded on a repealed law, unsupported by credible evidence, and demanding the accused disprove the prosecution\u2019s case is not justice, it is a mockery of the rule of law. Justice Omotosho\u2019s ruling serves not the cause of fairness but the agenda of executive theatre cloaked in judicial authority.”<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Our Correspondent Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has condemned in strong terms the ruling of an Abuja High court Presided over by Hon.Justice James Omotosho, that its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has to explain certain things in his broadcasts, describing it as unethical and unlawful. In a statement by a human rights Lawyer\/Public Advocate, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[1879,3482,3150,992,4766,4765,4763,4240,4764],"class_list":["post-7481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-law-crime","tag-credible","tag-established","tag-evidence","tag-investigate","tag-lapses","tag-recurring","tag-troubling","tag-underscores","tag-unsupported"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7481"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7482,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7481\/revisions\/7482"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}