As international pressure continues to mount on Nigeria over the trial of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the American Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID), has condemned the Abuja High Court trial, describing it as nullity.

AVID, in a statement issued by its President, Chief Sylvester Onyia, expressed grave concern over what it described as “the continuing judicial travesty unfolding before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in the trial of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).”

The group cited section 36 (12) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to buttress its demand for Kanu’s unconditional release, arguing that “a trial without law is a trial without legitimacy.”

“Yet, before the world and under Justice Omotosho’s watch, the Nigerian state persists in trying Maz Nnamdi Kanu under a dead law — the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act, 2013 — which ceased to exist upon the enactment of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

“Justice Omotosho, contrary to the mandatory duty of judicial notice under Section 122(2)(a) of the Evidence Act, has refused to acknowledge this repeal.

This is not a mere oversight; it is a judicial dereliction of constitutional duty.” AVID further held that, “Justice Omotosho’s posture of “wait till judgment” on questions of jurisdiction, double jeopardy and validity of charge, is the opposite of established precedents of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.