A lawyer and member of the Mazi Nnamdi Kanu Defence Consortium, Barrister Christopher Chidera, has accused the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) of remaining silent in the face of what he described as serious legal irregularities in the conviction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader.
In a statement issued on Monday, Chidera alleged that Nigeria’s leading legal institutions were relying on public propaganda to overshadow what he termed the unlawful prosecution, conviction, and continued detention of Kanu.
The lawyer argued that Kanu should not have been prosecuted or convicted under the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act (TPAA) of 2013, which he said had been repealed by the National Assembly prior to the judgment.
According to Chidera, Nigeria enacted a new terrorism law in 2022, simultaneously repealing earlier terrorism laws from 2011 and 2013. He maintained that once repealed, the old law ceased to have legal effect and could no longer serve as the basis for criminal conviction or sentencing.
“The National Assembly scrapped the old terrorism laws. Scrapped means dead. Dead laws cannot jail people,” Chidera said, insisting that any ongoing or future proceedings should have been conducted under the new legislation.
He further claimed that the trial judge acknowledged the repeal but failed to apply the provisions of the 2022 law, despite stating an intention to ensure a smooth legal transition. According to him, Kanu was convicted and sentenced solely under the repealed 2013 law.
Chidera described the action as a deliberate misapplication of the law, warning that allowing such a judgment to stand would undermine the authority of the legislature and the supremacy of the Constitution.
“If a court can convict under a repealed law, then any citizen is at risk,” he warned, adding that such precedent could allow judges to resurrect obsolete laws at will.
He concluded that the case transcends Kanu’s situation and raises broader concerns about the rule of law, judicial accountability, and constitutional governance in Nigeria.