The American Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID) has sharply criticised what it described as a “continuing judicial travesty” in the ongoing trial of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
In a statement issued on Thursday and signed by its President, Chief Dr. Sylvester Onyia, the group expressed deep concern over what it termed the erosion of constitutional safeguards and judicial inconsistency in the case.
AVID said the prosecution of Kanu under a repealed law “lacks legal foundation” and undermines both Nigeria’s Constitution and international fair trial standards.
“Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution (as amended) is explicit under Section 36(12): no person shall be tried for any offence unless that offence and its penalty are defined in a written law,” the statement read.
“This safeguard is not optional — it is the cornerstone of due process and a test of any nation’s commitment to justice.”
The group accused the Federal Government of persisting with charges under the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act, 2013, which was repealed by the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
“Before the world and under Justice Omotosho’s watch, the Nigerian state is prosecuting Mazi Nnamdi Kanu under a dead law,” AVID stated.
“By failing to take judicial notice of this repeal, as required under Section 122(2)(a) of the Evidence Act, the court risks validating a constitutional nullity.”
AVID also faulted Justice Omotosho’s reported decision to defer rulings on jurisdiction and double jeopardy until final judgment — a move it said contradicts established Supreme Court precedents.
“Jurisdictional issues go to the root of any trial and must be decided immediately,” the group said.
“No court can assume powers it does not lawfully possess.”
Citing Section 76(1)(d)(iii) of the 2022 Terrorism Act, AVID pointed out that for any alleged terrorism committed abroad to be prosecutable in Nigeria, it must also constitute an offence in that foreign jurisdiction — in this case, Kenya, where Kanu was allegedly abducted.
“That requirement of double criminality has not been met, yet the court proceeds as though it has,” AVID added.
The veterans’ group further accused the judiciary and legal institutions of “conspiratorial silence”, saying their failure to speak out signals moral collapse.
“It is appalling that the NBA, NJC, and other legal bodies remain silent in the face of this constitutional infidelity,” the statement said.
“A nation whose lawyers cannot ask, ‘Under what law is this man being tried?’ has surrendered its conscience to tyranny.”
AVID alleged that every element of fair hearing guaranteed under Section 36(1) of the Constitution has been compromised — from denial of access to counsel to alleged disregard of evidence before the court.
According to the group, a dramatic moment in open court illustrated the depth of judicial rot:
“When Kanu asked, ‘Under what law am I being tried?’ the judge replied, ‘Wait till judgment.’ That a Federal High Court can proceed without identifying a valid law is the ultimate indictment of Nigeria’s justice system.”
AVID called on international institutions — including the United Nations Human Rights Council, the U.S. Department of State, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) — to monitor and document what it described as “ongoing judicial abuses in Nigeria.”
“This trial, as it stands, is not only a constitutional aberration but also a breach of international standards of fair trial and the rule of law,” the group said.
Concluding, AVID urged the Nigerian government to “choose between law and lawlessness.”
“Justice Omotosho’s courtroom has become a theatre of constitutional absurdity — where a man defends himself against a non-existent law, and constitutional provisions are treated as inconveniences,” the statement declared.
“If Nigeria still claims to be a democracy, it must halt this charade, uphold the rule of law, and release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu unconditionally.”