One of the lawyers of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu says President Muhammadu Buhari does not need the judiciary to set Mr Kanu free.
The lawyer Aloy Ejimakor stated this in reaction to Buhari’s statement on Friday when some Igbo leaders visited him in Aso Villa and requested the unconditional release of Kanu.
Buhari had said, “You’ve made an extremely difficult demand on me as leader of this country. The implication of your request is very serious. In the last six years, since I became president, nobody would say I have confronted or interfered in the work of the judiciary.
“When Kanu jumped bail, got arrested and was brought back to Nigeria, I said the best thing was to subject him to the system. Let him make his case in court, instead of giving very negative impressions of the country from outside. I will consider your demand, but it is a heavy one.”
However, Ejimakor quoted Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, noting that the attorney general of the federation Abubakar Malami has the power to discontinue at any stage any criminal proceedings instituted by him before judgement is delivered.
“Section 174 of the Constitution says: The Attorney General of the Federation shall have power to discontinue any criminal proceedings instituted by him.
“The unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu lies with the Executive, not the Judiciary,” he tweeted.
Kanu is facing charges bordering on treasonable felony and terrorism.
