Lead counsel for the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, Chief Mike Ozekhome, on Friday filed an appeal before the Supreme Court, seeking the intervention of the apex court to set aside the order staying the execution of Kanu’s release.
Ozekhome argued that the Federal Government had failed to act on the decision of the Court of Appeal which granted a stay of execution of the judgment of the same court delivered on October 13, 2022.
IPOB’s lead counsel, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, speaking through a statement on Friday, stated that the Federal Government, having secured “this unprecedented reprehensible order for stay, went back to sleep and ostensibly abandoned its appeal”.
Ejiofor also noted that Kanu’s legal team had filed an appeal before the Supreme Court “wherein we are seeking the intervention of the apex court to set aside the order staying the execution of Onyendu’s judgment”.
Kanu, according to the suit, is seeking “an order of this Honourable Court striking out and/or dismissing the Respondent’s Appeal No: SC/CR/1361/2022, for want of diligent prosecution.
“An order of this Honourable Court setting down the Applicant’s cross-appeal for hearing, and for such further order(s) this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances of this case.”
The team argued that by Section 6 (1) of the Supreme Court (Criminal Appeals) Practice Direction 2013, the respondent had only 10 days within which to file and serve the appellant’s brief of argument, upon the service of record of appeal.