Nnamdi Kanu Returns to Supreme Court to Challenge 2023 “Flawed Judgment”
Story: written by Myra November 11,2025
Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has returned to the Supreme Court of Nigeria to contest the apex court’s 15 December 2023 ruling, which overturned the Court of Appeal’s decision that had discharged him.
In a statement titled “A Judgment That Destroyed Justice”, Kanu’s legal team, led by Barrister Njoku Jude Njoku, described the 2023 judgment as a “per incuriam decision” that undermined the rule of law and kept Kanu in ongoing detention.
According to the lawyers, the Supreme Court panel, headed by Justice Garba Lawal and including Justices Emmanuel Agim, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Tijjani Abubakar, and Ibrahim Musa Saulawa, relied on the now-repealed Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act 2013 to remand Kanu for trial, even though it had been replaced by the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 over a year earlier.
“The Supreme Court knew the statute had been repealed, yet it proceeded to apply a dead law to reopen Kanu’s case in the Federal High Court,” Njoku stated. He argued that this made the judgment a “jurisdictional nullity” and a deliberate misrepresentation of the law.
The statement further alleged that the ruling violated Section 122 of the Evidence Act 2011, which requires courts to acknowledge repealed or newly enacted laws. By ignoring this statutory obligation, the Supreme Court acted per incuriam, according to Kanu’s legal team.
Beyond technical legal issues, Njoku said the judgment violated Kanu’s constitutional protection against double jeopardy under Section 36(9) of the 1999 Constitution, which prevents retrial after acquittal or discharge. “The Court of Appeal had discharged Kanu, yet the Supreme Court removed that protection and remitted him for trial on the same charges,” the statement noted.
Kanu’s lawyers insist that the motion is not only about his liberty but about protecting the integrity of Nigeria’s legal system. Njoku warned that allowing the 2023 judgment to stand could set a dangerous precedent: “Dead laws could be revived to prosecute citizens, double jeopardy protections could be ignored, and courts could become instruments of government reprisal.”
The team emphasized that correcting the alleged judicial error is critical “not just for Kanu, but for every Nigerian who relies on the courts for justice.”
