United States-based lawyer and international counsel to detained IPOB leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Bruce Fein, has condemned the decision of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which dismissed Kanu’s no-case submission, describing the ruling as a dangerous departure from both legal precedent and moral integrity.
In a letter addressed to Justice James Omotosho and released to journalists on Wednesday, Fein said the court’s decision contradicted established international principles, particularly given the circumstances surrounding Kanu’s arrest and extraordinary rendition from Kenya.
“No government should profit from its own criminality. That has been binding law from time immemorial,” Fein wrote, warning that the court’s ruling risks legitimising unlawful acts by the state.
Drawing from the words of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis in Olmstead v. United States (1928), Fein reminded the court that the legitimacy of any government depends on its obedience to its own laws.
“If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law. It invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy,” he quoted Brandeis as saying.
Fein argued that the Nigerian government’s alleged violation of international norms in the handling of Kanu’s case—particularly his forceful rendition—deprives the court of jurisdiction to proceed with the trial.
He referenced the 2022 opinion of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which found Kanu’s detention to be unlawful and called for his immediate and unconditional release.
“These are universal crimes under international law binding on Nigeria with or without its consent,” Fein stated. “They oust Nigerian courts of jurisdiction to prosecute Mr. Kanu, to prevent the government from profiting from its own actions.”
The U.S.-based attorney urged Justice Omotosho to dismiss all remaining charges against Kanu, insisting that doing otherwise would amount to endorsing illegality.
“If you refrain from dismissing all outstanding charges against Mr. Kanu for lack of jurisdiction, you will have been unfaithful to your professional duty to see that justice is done,” Fein cautioned.
However, in his ruling earlier this month, Justice Omotosho held that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against the IPOB leader, ruling that the evidence presented could not be dismissed at a preliminary stage and should instead be tested during the full trial.
The judge therefore dismissed Kanu’s no-case submission and directed that the matter proceed to the defence phase.
Fein, who has consistently represented Kanu’s interests in the United States and before international bodies, reiterated that justice must never be sacrificed for procedural convenience.
“Justice is the end of government,” he concluded. “And nothing is more unjust than a government profiting from its own wrong.”