The Mazi Nnamdi Kanu Global Defence Consortium says the trial and conviction of the IPOB leader has exposed a critical flaw in Nigeria’s justice system and forced citizens to become “legally literate for survival.” The lawyers issued the warning after Kanu urged the Federal High Court to move him from the Sokoto custodial centre to Abuja, where he is serving a life sentence handed down in November.
Kanu was convicted on terrorism charges by Justice James Omotosho on 20 November 2025, but his defence team insists the ruling was delivered under a repealed law. They argue that the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act 2013 — used in the conviction — was replaced by the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.
In a statement signed by Barrister Njoku Jude Njoku, the legal team said the court’s decision demonstrated how judicial processes have become “so distorted” that Nigerians are now compelled to educate themselves on the law. “A dangerous thing is happening in Nigeria,” the statement read, accusing the judiciary of hiding behind complex legal language while applying outdated statutes.
The lawyers questioned how a conviction could be secured under a law repealed three years earlier, citing Supreme Court precedent — particularly A.G. Lagos State v. Dosunmu — where the apex court ruled that a repealed law “ceases to exist for all future purposes.” They stressed that no trial, charge, or conviction can stand on a law that has legally been laid to rest.
While the prosecution relied on Section 98(3) of the 2022 Act to support the conviction, the defence argued that the trial restarted in March 2025 and should have followed Section 97, which mandates that all proceedings must continue under the new legislation. They insisted Section 98(3) does not permit a 2025 conviction under the defunct 2013 statute.
The statement accused Nigerian judges of relying on intimidating legal jargon to discourage public scrutiny for years but said Kanu’s case has “backfired spectacularly,” pushing ordinary Nigerians to study the law and challenge long-standing judicial practices.
The defence team expressed confidence that the Court of Appeal will overturn the conviction, warning that upholding it would contradict the Constitution, violate established jurisprudence, and subject Nigeria to international embarrassment. They described the case as “not just a legal battle but a national awakening.”
