Nigeria has a lot to gain by settling the Nnamdi Kanu case politically

BY BENNETT AMADI

A Nigerian-born, Boston-based lawyer, Bennett Amadi, has called on the Nigerian government to seize the opportunity to resolve the case of the IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, through a political settlement. He made the remark during a special episode of 90MinutesAfrica, dissecting the judgment of Justice James Omotosho, who sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment on terrorism charges.

The legal practitioner argued that the MNK case should not be treated as a “normal case” and therefore should be handled differently. “Nnamdi Kanu’s case is a political case and should have been resolved politically,” Barr. Amadi stated.

He further noted that the opportunity for a political settlement still exists and advised the government of President Tinubu to explore it for the country’s benefit. “He (Nnamdi Kanu) is a very intelligent man who can contribute a lot to make the country better. That opportunity should not be lost for any reason whatsoever.”

Speaking on his impression of the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in the case, the seasoned lawyer said that Justice Omotosho appeared to be acting under some pressure to sentence Nnamdi Kanu. He said that the fear of Nigerian judges of having nothing to fall back on if they lose their jobs is making them succumb easily to external pressures. He advocated for judges to be allowed to return to legal practice after their service as judges comes to an end for whatever reason.

“These judges have dependents and so won’t want to be retired prematurely or, even worse, sacked. But if it had been that once a person ceases to be a judge, he or she can open a chamber and begin legal practice, Nigerian judges would be more forthright, more fearless, and be able to comply with the law,” he said.

He questioned the legal justification for the court to try Nnamdi Kanu under a law that an Act of the national assembly has repealed. “If a law is repealed, that law is dead and buried. Commonsensically and legally, you cannot try a person using a repealed law,” the Barr. Amadi argued. He insisted that the government’s argument that the 2022 Act replaced the repealed law is not legally valid. “Once a new law replaces the old one, they ought to have amended the charges to reflect the new law. If the charges were not amended, they were dead.”

The legal practitioner also debunked claims that Nnamdi Kanu jumped bail. Barrister Amadi said Kanu ran for his life after the military raided his home, where they killed scores of people. He revealed that Nnamdi Kanu “filed an affidavit from his hideout at the time and sent it to the court requesting that if they would guarantee his safety, he was prepared to appear to answer to the charges against him.” Amadi said Kanu only stayed away because his safety could not be guaranteed.