Miscarriage of justice: Nnamdi Kanu writes NBA, seeks sanctions against Nyako, 2 others

Miscarriage of justice: Nnamdi Kanu writes NBA, seeks sanctions against Nyako, 2 others

By Steve Oko

Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPoB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has petitioned the Nigeria Bar Association, seeking sanctions against three judges – Justices Binta Nyako, Haruna Tsammani, and Garba Lawal for alleged gross judicial misconduct.

Kanu in a strong- worded petition he personally signed and made available to Wawa News Global through one of his lawyers, Barrister Prince Mandela Umegborogu, acused the trio of miscarriage of Justice in his trial.

Recall that Kanu who was extraordinarily renditioned from Kenya since June 2021, has remained in detention at the Abuja headquarters of the Department of State Services, DSS.

The IPoB Leader who chronicled the various offenses of the judicial officers against him, urged the NBA currently meeting in Enugu, to investigate them and take appropriate measures against them for flagrant abuse of judicial processes.

Kanu also, urged NBA to:”Publish a report condemning the use of civil procedures to subvert criminal law, and the resurrection of repealed statutes; affirm that no Nigerian should ever again be detained by abduction or tried under a repealed law; and to hold errant judges accountable, restoring public confidence in the Bar and Bench.”

The IPOB Leader said that “the catalogue of infractions” by the trio against him, “now stand as an un-erasable blot on Nigeria’s legal conscience” .

Below is a full text of the letter dated August 22, 2025:

“C/o Mazi Nnamdi Kanu
State Security Service,
Three Arms Zone, Abuja-FCT,
18th August, 2025.

“The President, Nigerian Bar Association, Plot 1101, Mohammadu Buhari Way, Central Business District,
Abuja-FCT

Attention: Chairman NBA Annual General Conference Planning Committee

RE: MISCARRIAGES OF JUSTICE IN THE CASE OF MAZI NNAMDI KANU

Sir, my name is Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), an organization which is a lawful Human Right Organization registered in over 18 countries of the world with peacefully agitation for My Right to Self Determination of Biafra Republic which is a Fundamental Human Right of Association guaranteed both in local and international laws and human rights.

May | inform you that this is not merely a letter of a persecuted man; it is a bill of indictment against a segment of the Nigerian judiciary that has, in my case, converted courts of law into arenas of impunity.

What has been done to me in Abuja courts — by Justice Binta Nyako, Justice Haruna Tsammani, and Justice Garba Mohammed Lawal — amounts to nothing less than the judicial lynching as against constitutional order and I am calling Nigerian Bar Association to incorporate this as one of your discussions in the ongoing NBA conference going on in Enugu State.

The NBA, as one of the guardians of the legal profession and the promoter of the rule of law, cannot continue to turn its face the other way. Audi alteram partem — the sacred maxim of fair hearing has been shattered beyond recognition.

I. Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) 1999 (as amended), Sections 169 and 293 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act {ACJA) 2015, and binding international instruments like the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Article 7) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 14) have all been mutilated in my case. :

This letter sets out, in painstaking details, the catalogue of infractions that now stand as an un-erasable blot on Nigeria’s legal conscience, supported by judicial authority. It is further compounded by the fact that multiple authoritative bodies — including the Supreme Court itself, Court of Appeal of Nigeria (which discharged me), the Federal High Court (which declared my extraordinary rendition illegal), the Kenyan High Court, UN Special Rapporteur opinions, and the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) — have confirmed that I was abducted, tortured, and extraordinarily rendition from Kenya in violation of domestic and international law.

II. JUSTICE BINTA NYAKO (FHC, ABUJA)

(a) Illegal Remand without Fair Hearing

Section 293 (1) ACJA 2015 provides that a court may remand a person only after a hearing. Justice Nyako remanded me without such hearing, violating Section 36(1) CFRN 1999.

Shugaba v Minister of Internal Affairs {1981} 3 NCLR 459: “The essence of fair hearing is that the person accused or involved should be given opportunity to be heard before any decision is taken affecting his right… This is the cornerstone of the administration of justice.”

Adeniji v State (2001) 13 NWLR (Pt 730) 375 at 403: “A decision reached without affording the defendant a fair hearing is a nullity, void and of no effect whatsoever.”

(b) Failure to Inquire into My Absence:

I was unable to attend trial in 2017 because the Nigerian Army invaded my home in Afaraukwu, Abia State, killing 28 people and forcing me into exile. I deposed to this fact in an affidavit from Israel where I had sought safety. Justice Nyako refused to inquire into it.

In Enukeme v Mazi (2020) 15 NWLR (Pt 1746) 489 at 516: “Where a defendant places credible affidavit evidence before the court explaining his absence, the trial court is bound to inquire into it. The failure… amounts to denial of fair hearing.”

(c) Illegal Remand in DSS Custody: ‘ Section 293(2) ACJA is explicit: “A person remanded under this section shall be held in a prison.” Justice Nyako’s order remanding me in DSS custody: -the very agency that abducted and tortured me — violated the nemo judex in causa sua principle and Section 36(5) CFRN.

In Ekwenugo v FRN (2001) 6 NWLR (Pt 708) 171 at 185: “The remand of an accused person in police custody is an anathema to the principle of fair hearing. The proper place for remand is prison custody.”

Lufadeju v Johnson (2007) 8 NWLR (Pt 1037) 535 at 562 (per Oguntade JSC): “Remand means to send to prison … or to recommit an accused person to custody after preliminary examination.

”Danfulani v EFCC (2016) 5 NWLR (Pt 1502) 223 at 250: “Detention beyond constitutional limits without arraignment is unconstitutional and arbitrary.” Enwere v COP (1993) 6 NWLR (Pt 299) 333 at 342: “The practice of holding charge is unconstitutional and violates the right to fair hearing.”

4 Jimoh v COP (2004) LPELR-11262: “Holding charge is unknown to Nigerian law. Detention in police custody prejudices trial.” Adamu v FRN (2020) LPELR-49879:

“Ex parte remand orders must comply with fair hearing. Detention by the prosecuting agency risks arbitrariness.” Alade v FRN (ECOWAS Court, 2012): indefinite detention under holding charge violates liberty and fair hearing rights under the Charter. Huri-Laws v Nigeria (2000) AHRLR 273 (ACHPR):

“Detentions without judicial oversight violate Article 7 of the African Charter.” Lt (d) Contradictory Positions on iPOB . On 1 March 2017, Justice Nyako ruled that 1POB was not an unlawful society. Yet she later entertained charges founded upon an ex parte proscription.

3 AG Lagos State v Dosunmu (1989) 3 NWLR (Pt 111) 552 at 576: “A court must not approbate and reprobate… This principle applies with even greater force to the court itself.”

(e) Ex Parte Orders as Criminal Basis: ‘

A civil ex parte order was used to base criminal charges. Nwankwo v Yar’adua (2010) 12 NWLR (Pt 1209) 518 at 586: “Ex parte proceedings are strictly for urgent interim remedies in civil matters. They cannot substitute for adversarial criminal trials where liberty is at stake.”

JUSTICE HARUNA TSAMMANI (JCA, THEN)

On 13 October 2022, the Court of Appeal discharged me. Justice Tsammani’s panet then granted a stay of execution on this criminal discharge — an aberration unknown to law. In FRN v Abacha (2000) 5 SCNJ 241 at 254: “A discharge of an accused person for want of jurisdiction amounts to an acquittal. It is final and irreversible.” In Oladejo v State (2018) 12 NWLR (Pt 1632) 118 at 137:

“Once an accused is discharged and acquitted, he stands absolved of all criminal liability. The concept of stay of execution is alien to criminal jurisprudence.” in Eze v FRN (2017) LPELR-42097(SC) at 25: “Criminal proceedings are sui generis. They are not governed by civil procedure rules. Stay of execution under the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act does not apply.”

This device detained me 14 months without charge — a direct assault on Section 36 (1) CFRN and Article 7 African Charter.

IV. JUSTICE GARBA MOHAMMED LAWAL (JSC) .

On 15 December 2023 (SC/CR/1364/2022), Justice Lawal reversed my discharge. (a) Breach of Finality of Discharge:

Ogbu v State (2021) 7 NWLR (Pt 1774) 1 at 23: “A discharge on ground of want of jurisdiction is as good as an acquittal.” .

Udeogu v FRN (2020) 10 NWLR (Pt 1731) 226 at 291: “Where trial is void for want of jurisdiction, the proceedings are a nullity. The proper order is not continuation but termination.” ‘, (b) Allen Doctrine of “illegally Obtained Evidence” _ Justice Lawal compared me to illegally obtained evidence. r “4 ¢ FRN v Ibori (2014) 1 NWLR (Pt 1389) 639 at 660: “illegally obtained evidence may still be admitted, but the doctrine concerns objects or documents, not human persons.” (c) Violation of Extradition Law and Treaties AGF v Abubakar (2007) 10 NWLR (Pt 1041) 1 at 75: ratified treaties bind Nigerian courts.

In Abacha v Fawehinmi (2000) 6 NWLiR (Pt 660) 228 at 288: the African Charter has “higher authority and sanctity’ than domestic statutes. My extraordinary rendition from Kenya flagrantly violated these provisions. (d) Revival of a Dead Statute i | was remitted under the repealed TPAA 2013.

In Okotie-Eboh v Manager (2004) 18 NWLR (Pt 905) 242 at 291: “A repealed law is dead. It cannot be resuscitated.” UAC v Mcfoy [1962] AC 152 at 160 (PC): “You cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand.” The savings clause in Section 97 TPPA 2022 cannot apply, since my trial had been finally terminated by the Court of Appeal discharge of 13 October 2022. V. THE FALLACIOUS “NATIONAL SECURITY” DEFENCE ‘

The judges may invoke FRN v Dokubo-Asari (2007) 12 NWLR (Pt 1048) 320. That reliance is misplaced. Section 36 CFRN (fair hearing) is non-derogable under Section 45(1). The Supreme Court in Dokubo-Asari addressed bail discretion, not the core right to fair trial. Dokubo-Asari at 338: “By Section 45(1), rights in Sections 37-41 may be derogated from. It is significant that fair hearing under Section 36 is not one of them.” 7 }

Thus, national security cannot override the Constitution’s most sacred guarantee.

VI. PRAYER TO THE NBA

I urge the NBA to:

* Investigate Justices Binta Nyako, Haruna Tsammani, and Garba Lawal for gross judicial misconduct.

* Publish a report condemning use of civil procedures to subvert criminal law, and the resurrection of repealed statutes.

* Affirm that no Nigerian should ever again be detained by abduction or tried under a repealed law.

* Hold errant judges accountable, restoring public confidence in the Bar and Bench.

Vil. CONCLUSION

This case is not only about me. It is about whether Nigeria’s judiciary is bound by law or by impunity. The Constitution, statutes, and international treaties have all been shredded. The Bar cannot be silent.

1 hereby call on Nigerian Bar Association to discuss these Judicial misconducts as one of your topic of discussions in the ongoing 2025 NBA annual conference going on in Enugu State.

“Qui tacet consentire videtur — he who is silent is taken to agree. Silence now would make the NBA complicit in the erosion of Nigeria’s legal foundations. Thank you and God bless the NBA.”

 

Steve Oko, Publisher/C.E.O, WaWa News Global. For more information on advert placement and news coverage, contact us on: 08038725600, or via email stevemanofgod2000@yahoo.com; wawanewsglobal@gmail.com Always read WaWa News Global - Your most dependable online news platform for the latest breaking news in Nigeria.

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