‘The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday upheld the appeal of the detained leader of IPoB and ordered his release’
The National Security Council, on Friday, said it was “considering the appropriate action to be taken” on the recent release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
It also backed the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, who clarified that Kanu’s release was not equivalent to an acquittal.
The Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Dingyadi, disclosed this shortly after the NSC meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Aso Rock Villa.
Dingyadi, who spoke alongside his counterpart in the Ministry of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, said Kanu was only discharged.
He added that the Federal Government would explore other legal instruments to pursue the matter.
However, he noted that the council did not discuss a possible political route that Malami had raised last November.
The council, he said, only discussed the Appeal Court judgment, noting that solutions to such matters could be considered so far as they were not subjudice.
Recall that the Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday upheld the appeal of the detained leader of the proscribed group and ordered his release.
But a statement signed by the AGF’s spokesperson, Dr. Umar Gwandu, asserted that “Kanu was only discharged and not acquitted.”
“Consequently, the appropriate legal options before the authorities will be exploited and communicated accordingly to the public,” the statement added.
Dingyadi reinforced the AGF’s stance saying the Federal Government was considering other options.
“The issue of Kanu has also been raised and Council was briefed on the state of things on the matter and it was observed that Kanu was discharged, but he was not acquitted.
“So, the government is considering the appropriate action to be taken on the matter and Nigerians will be notified of the position that will be finally taken on the matter in due course,” the minister stated.
Meanwhile, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, lawyer to the IPOB leader, Kanu, has asked the AGF to comply with the order of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal.
He also advised Malami to consider voluntary resignation for allegedly exposing the Federal Government to international embarrassment and ridicule.
Ejiofor said, “I implore him to meticulously read the full judgment of the Court of Appeal, immediately comply with orders made therein and possibly consider the most appropriate option of voluntarily resigning, for exposing the Federal Government to this international embarrassment and ridicule.
