The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has on Friday, struck out eight out of the 15-count treasonable felony charge brought against the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.
The ruling followed an application Kanu filed through his team of lawyers led by Chief Mike Ozekhome(SAN) to quash the entire charge against him stressing that the charge was legally defective and the court lacked the jurisdiction to try him on the strength of an incompetent charge.
Justice Binta Nyako, struck out counts 6,7,9,10,11,12,13 and 14 of the charge.
“I have read the counts and counts 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 have not disclosed any offence against the defendant.
“‘Counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 15 show some allegations. The court shall proceed to try the defendant on those count,” Justice Nyako said.
Ozekhome argued that since the allegations the FG levelled against Kanu, were purportedly committed outside the country, the high court, therefore, lack the jurisdiction to entertain the charge.
“The charges appears to give this court a global jurisdiction over offences that were allegedly committed by the Defendant, without specifying the location or date the said offences were committed,” he told the court.
He further contended that the FG accusation of Nnamdi Kanu being the leader of an unlawful organization does not hold water since the action of FG, in proscribing the IPOB, is still subject of legal dispute at the Court of Appeal and therefore subjudice.
