“Legal Ghost”: Kanu’s Defence Team Dares FG, Justifies Planned Protest

Mazi Nnamdi Kanu Global Defence Consortium has justified the October 20 planned protest, saying “the Cass is Dead and Buried”.

The Mazi Nnamdi Kanu Global Defence Consortium has defended the planned October 20 protest calling for the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, insisting that the demonstration is both lawful and justified since, according to them, the case against Kanu is already “dead.”

In a statement issued on Tuesday by Barrister Njoku Jude Njoku, the defence team dismissed claims that the protest was unnecessary because Kanu’s case was “still in court.”
The statement, titled: ‘Kanu’s Case is Dead – and Everyone Knows It declared that the matter “is not in court,” but rather “dead and in the grave.”

Doctrine of Finality: Why the Case is ‘Legally Dead’

Explaining the legal grounds for their assertion, the lawyers cited the Doctrine of Finality, referencing landmark Supreme Court cases.

According to the statement:

“The Supreme Court Judgment on Madukolu v. Nkemdilim (1962) established that once jurisdiction collapses, as was the case in Nnamdi Kanu v. FRN (2022), the entire case dies instantly.

In Abacha v. State (2002), the Supreme Court reiterated that once an appellate court discharges a man on jurisdictional grounds, no other court — not even the Supreme Court — can touch it again. Sadly, many lawyers and judges in Nigeria remain unaware of this. They mistakenly think the Supreme Court can revive a dead case, which is false. Criminal law jurisprudence is not the same as civil law.

This is known as the Doctrine of Finality. It’s legal granite. When the Court of Appeal discharged Kanu on 13 October 2022, that was the end. Any judge pretending otherwise is dancing on the corpse of the law.”

DOUBLE JEOPARDY AND THE 1999 CONSTITUTION

The defence further argued that the principle of Double Jeopardy also renders any further trial invalid.

“Section 36(9) of the 1999 Constitution clearly states that once a person has been tried and discharged, he cannot be tried again for the same offence — no ifs, no buts. The Supreme Court is not above the Constitution. What is happening now amounts to a constitutional middle finger to Nigerians.

Any retrial is not just illegal — it’s a criminal contempt of the Constitution itself,” the statement declared.

‘DEAD LAW, DEAD CASE’ – ON THE TERRORISM PREVENTION ACT

The lawyers also emphasized that the Terrorism Prevention Act (2013), under which Kanu was charged, was repealed in 2022, rendering the charges baseless.

“They’re still waving the old Terrorism Prevention Act 2013, which was repealed in 2022. That law is dead. You can’t use a dead law to judge a living man. But Nigeria’s judicial morticians are busy dressing the corpse for another round of lies.

Justice Omotosho typifies your average Nigerian judicial mortician,” the statement read.

INTERNATIONAL LAW AND THE KENYA RENDITION

On Kanu’s arrest and rendition from Kenya, the defence team described it as a violation of international law, arguing that the Kenyan government never approved his extradition.

“Kanu was abducted from Kenya, not extradited. Under the principle of double criminality, you can’t prosecute someone for an act that isn’t a crime in the country from which he was taken. Kenya never approved the rendition. That’s why the ECOWAS Court filings are a ticking time bomb. When that verdict drops, it will stain Nigeria before the world,” the statement warned.

SUPPORT FOR SOWORE AND PUBLIC PRESSURE

The team also voiced strong support for Omoyele Sowore, who is leading the protest.

“Sowore knows all this — that’s why he’s marching. He’s not being reckless; he’s being righteous. The DSS and their colonial handlers fear one thing: public pressure backed by law and conscience.

Justice Omotosho knows he’s sitting on a dead case. Kanu’s appearance in court is not submission — it’s respect for the institution, not for the fraud. Justice Omotosho should summon courage and tell the Federal Government the truth: this case is a legal ghost.”

‘THE VERDICT OF HISTORY’

The statement concluded with a powerful declaration:

“The real criminals are not in DSS custody — they’re the ones twisting the law in broad daylight, ignoring finality, double jeopardy, and the repealed Act.

The verdict of history is clear:
Kanu’s case is dead. It cannot be retried, recycled, or resuscitated. Madukolu buried it. Abacha sealed it. Section 36(9) locked the coffin. No propaganda, no panel, no puppet judge can open it again.”