Maxwell Opara is a lawyer and counsel to the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu. In this interview, he speaks on his conviction and the next line of action, among other issues, ANAYO EZUGWU reports

As counsel to Nnamdi Kanu before he dismissed all his lawyers and said he would defend himself, what’s your take on his conviction?

I want to start by commending the people of the SouthEast for listening to us because we were calling from the court that nobody should take laws into their hands, because 80 per cent, if not 90 per cent of Igbos are with Nnamdi Kanu. They know that he is not a terrorist. Secondly, someone commended the judiciary for allowing live streaming of the judgment.

Now, you ask yourself: What stopped the judiciary from streaming the trial live, so that people will understand what happened? But that one is a different ballgame. I want to call all Nigerians to join hands in this matter, so that the Court of Appeal will set aside this judgment. When the judgment was given, there in America, where our delegates were facing the U.S. Congress, one of the congressmen raised this issue.

He narrated the kind of injustice Nnamdi Kanu has suffered in the hands of Nigeria, as if the man is a Nigerian. Kanu has suffered the highest injustice any other person can suffer in the whole world, here in Nigeria, his own country. One, he was enjoying his bail but a government, the prosecutor, who is prosecuting him, went to his house and they killed 38 persons and left with 13 corpses, as we speak.

As a result of that, he lost their parents. As if that one is not enough, Kanu ran away and deposed an affidavit from Israel, saying ‘My Lord, I’m in Israel. Look at the circumstances that made me to run away.’ The affidavit is with the court. He said if the court will guarantee his safety, he will come back to face his trial. While that one was on, he was unlawfully brought back to Nigeria but court ruled that Kanu never jumped bail, and that as a matter of urgency, the Nigerian government should release him. The Federal Government did not obey that ruling.

Coming back to Nigeria, we continue with the trial. The Court of Appeal unanimously discharged Kanu and they said that no court should try him. The Federal Government refused to comply with that order, and they kept him unlawfully for nine days before they now filed what they called a motion for stay in a criminal matter. When they filed the motion for stay, the matter got to Supreme Court.

The apex court, after looking at all these things, concluded that the court ought not have revoked his bail. It also condemned the killings by the military in his house. They referred the matter back to the Federal High court to continue with the trial, with the intention that the matter will continue with the Hon. Justice Binta Nyako’s court.

But when we got there, Justice Nyako recused herself. The matter now went back to Justice James Omotosho and Kanu took a fresh plea. That plea Kanu took before Justice Binta Nyako, is no longer effective. He now took a fresh plea, in a fresh court and that was where the issue of repealed law comes in.

You said that a significant number of people in the South-East are sympathetic to the plight of Kanu. In the interest of public peace and in the interest of national security, how should this matter be managed, pending when the next decision, whether to appeal or not, will be taken by him?

I want to say that on the issue of stay-at-home; some people took advantage of Kanu’s incommunicado and started issuing unnecessary orders. When this issue started, Kanu personally sent me to Europe to go and talk to Simon Ekpa that he should stop this stayat-home and we repeated said that Nnamdi Kanu was not a party to it.

Lucky enough, one day, the Department of State (DSSS) allowed him to speak from the court and he made it very clear to everybody. So, the best way to handle this issue is for the Court of Appeal to set aside this most embarrassing judgment.

On the issue of stay-at-home; some people took advantage of Kanu’s incommunicado and started issuing unnecessary orders

You are comparing Kanu’s agitation with Boko Haram, somebody that told you, look at what I am fighting for. It’s up to you to call the person and seek a way to resolve the problem by addressing the issues that gave birth to the agitation. That way, the agitation will just die naturally. Why the judgment is because Nnamdi Kanu is Igbo. You can’t do it to any other tribe in Nigeria. So, the best way to handle this matter as it stands now is for the Court of Appeal to look at all the matters we filed.

Can you give us insight into why we couldn’t get a defence for some of these statements that many people are hearing and are concerned about the nature of this type of language from somebody who’s so influential that people listen to, that people will obey orders from?

It’s not compulsory. Defence has to do with cross-examination. Defence has to do with you filing your final written address. They tendered 34 exhibits, including Kanu’s boxers, singlet, and perfume, which they collected from his room.

Now, the one the judge relied heavily on is all those doctored video clips. And any time they want to tender anyone, after playing it, they will ask any objection, our lead counsel will say ‘My Lord, we object, but we reserve our comment in our final written address.’

All these things are in the court’s record. This is how they tendered all the whole exhibits and we planned to attack them on the final written address. Now, Kanu told you that, please, I’m supposed to enter my defence, but I want you to clarify one issue, especially the directive the Supreme Court gave that these people should amend their charge to reflect on the proper law.

Before we could say anything, you foreclosed Kanu. When you foreclosed him, what are you expected to do? You should order for address because section 36 said any person that is facing a criminal trial is entitled to adequate time and facility. One of the facilities is his final written address.

If the judge feels he’s being unruly and abusive, do you feel he is still entitled to proceed with his submissions?

You have to separate your personal emotion from the adjudication of a matter before you. That was why I said that the judgment was predicated on anger.

But I don’t want to go into that. Kanu said, please, my lord, I want to file my final written address, you on your own, foreclosed him. And when you foreclosed him, you’re expected to ask for a final written address except the parties on their own said they are not filing the final written address. You’re supposed to give them that opportunity of a hearing.

Let him file his final written address. You are not saying that. You have used his motion he filed earlier, as his final written address. Does that motion address all those doctored video clips that you accepted? Among all those video clips, the one that favoured the prosecution, you take it.

Do you think it was actually a gamble, as the judge put it, that Kanu should not have rested his case on the prosecution and not allow his lawyers to continue with the job?

I want to say that an accused person, both in civil and in a criminal matter, has a right to defend himself. I am part and parcel of all that transpired. I can tell you that Kanu never sacked his lawyers.

Rather, the lawyers withdrew. A lot of things are involved in this particular matter. And the lawyers, of course, we have the best of them and nobody paid them. The seven Senior Advocates Nigeria and others, nobody paid us. We have a very good understanding with the defendant.

I don’t want to tell you what happened. Just like you said, as an officer in the Temple of Justice, there are some things that I’m not expected to say. The point I’m making is that if Kanu had the opportunity of coming here to tell you what transpired in this matter, you will shout. But that one is by the way.

What we are talking about is that, in fact, when a defendant has no lawyer defending him, the judge must apply extreme caution. We are talking about fair hearing. I use finality in address as an instance. Maybe, that final written address would have addressed all these issues because final written address is a part of the defence.