The National Judicial Council (NJC) has dismissed reports claiming that the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, ordered the immediate release and repatriation of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to Kenya.
In a statement released on Thursday, the NJC described the reports as false and baseless, asserting that the CJN has had no involvement in Kanu’s legal battles.
“The Council wishes to state that the media report is false and a figment of the writer’s imagination. There are no court proceedings, decisions, or judgments where such statements were made by His Lordship,” the statement, signed by NJC’s Deputy Director of Information, Kemi Ogedengbe, read.
The NJC further clarified that the CJN did not preside over Kanu’s case at the Supreme Court and never issued any letter of apology to the Kenyan government regarding his arrest.
Meanwhile, Kanu is set to appear before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday for a fresh plea before a new judge, Justice James Omotosho. The case was reassigned after the previous judge, Justice Binta Nyako, stepped down following allegations of bias by Kanu’s legal team.
Kanu, initially arrested in Lagos in 2015, was granted bail in 2017 but fled the country after a military raid on his home. He was later re-arrested in Kenya in 2021 and extradited to Nigeria, where he remains in custody.
Although an appellate court had ordered his release in 2022, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling in December 2023, allowing the Federal Government to proceed with his trial on a seven-count charge.
