The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has filed a fresh motion at the Federal High Court in Abuja, requesting the dismissal of all charges against him and his immediate release.
The motion, dated October 30, 2025, and titled “Motion on Notice and Written Address in Support,” asserts that there is no valid charge against him under any existing Nigerian law.
Kanu described the charges before the court as “a nullity ab initio for want of any extant legal foundation.”
Representing himself, the IPOB leader filed the motion under Sections 1(3), 6(6)(b), and 36(12) of the 1999 Constitution, the Evidence Act 2011, and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.
He argued that the prosecution relied on repealed and non-existent laws, including the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA), repealed by the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, and the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act 2013, repealed by the TPPA 2022.
Kanu said that reliance on such repealed statutes violates Section 36(12) of the Constitution, which “prohibits trial for an offence not defined under an existing law.”
He therefore asked the court to “strike out the charges in their entirety, insisting they do not constitute any offence known to law.”
Citing the Supreme Court decision in FRN v. Kanu (SC/CR/1361/2022), he maintained that lower courts are bound to take judicial notice of repealed laws under Section 122 of the Evidence Act 2011, adding that failure to do so renders all proceedings void.”
Kanu also argued that some of the alleged offences were committed in Kenya, which he said violates Section 76(1)(d)(iii) of the TPPA 2022, requiring validation by a Kenyan court before such acts can be tried in Nigeria.
He contended that “this omission nullifies the court’s extraterritorial jurisdiction and breaches Article 7(2) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.”
He further stressed that under Sections 1(3) and 36(12) of the Constitution, any law or judicial act inconsistent with the Constitution is void.
Kanu cited previous cases, including Aoko v. Fagbemi (1961) 1 All NLR 400 and FRN v. Ifegwu (2003) 15 NWLR (Pt 842) 113, where convictions based on non-existent laws were nullified.
The IPOB leader urged the court to “direct the prosecution to respond to his motion strictly on points of law within three days and to deliver a ruling on or before November 4, 2025.”
He added that “his application raises only constitutional and legal questions derived from existing laws and therefore does not require an affidavit.”
