The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has strongly criticized the Supreme Court of Nigeria for overturning the discharge of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, from terrorism charges filed by the federal government.

Previously, a panel of three Justices at the Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed the charges against Kanu, ruling that his abduction from Kenya and subsequent return to Nigeria violated local and international laws. The court ordered his release on those grounds.

However, following an appeal by the federal government, the Supreme Court set aside the Court of Appeal’s decision. The apex court ruled that the manner of Kanu’s return to Nigeria was irrelevant and ordered that his trial continue.

In a statement issued on Friday and signed by Barrister Onyedikachi Ifedi, IPOB’s Directorate of Legal Affairs & Global Communications, the group denounced the Supreme Court’s ruling, accusing it of undermining constitutional protections and enabling executive overreach.

The statement read in part:
“We condemn in the strongest terms the Supreme Court’s betrayal of the Constitution in FRN vs. Nnamdi Kanu. By overturning a lawful discharge based on state-sponsored kidnapping, the Court has violated non-derogable rights, annulled the constitutional ban on double jeopardy, and reduced the judiciary to an instrument of executive lawlessness.”

IPOB argued that the Court’s introduction of a “national security” exception to fair trial rights is a fraudulent reinterpretation of the Constitution, noting that Section 36(9) explicitly prohibits retrial after acquittal.

The group further stated:
“The Court of Appeal’s discharge was a final acquittal. The Supreme Court’s revival of dead charges serves state impunity. Courts lack jurisdiction where a defendant is procured through state abduction. The judgment rewards kidnapping as state policy, isolating Nigeria’s judiciary among civilized nations.”

IPOB condemned the ruling for violating Nigeria’s international obligations under the ICCPR and the African Charter and described the decision as “tyranny disguised as jurisprudence.”

The group called on the global community to withhold full engagement with Nigeria until Nnamdi Kanu is freed and constitutional rule restored. IPOB declared the Supreme Court’s ruling null and demanded Kanu’s immediate release.

Additionally, IPOB urged for the reversal of the Supreme Court’s decision and requested that the International Criminal Court investigate Nigerian officials for crimes against humanity related to abduction and denial of fair trial, urging sanctions against those responsible.