Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has petitioned the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), demanding sanctions against Justices Binta Nyako, Haruna Tsammani, and Garba Lawal for alleged gross judicial misconduct.
In a strongly-worded petition personally signed and released through his lawyer, Umesi, Kanu accused the judges of miscarriage of justice in his trial.
Kanu, who has been detained at the DSS headquarters in Abuja since his extraordinary rendition from Kenya in June 2021, detailed the alleged infractions, urging the NBA to investigate and hold the judges accountable.
He further called on the NBA to “publish a report condemning the use of civil procedures to subvert criminal law, and the resurrection of repealed statutes; affirm that no Nigerian should ever again be detained by abduction or tried under a repealed law; and to hold errant judges accountable, restoring public confidence in the Bar and Bench.”
According to Kanu, “the catalogue” of alleged infractions by the judges now stands as “an un-erasable blot on Nigeria’s legal conscience.”
What you should know
Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist movement seeking an independent state for the Igbo people in southeastern Nigeria.
Since his extraordinary rendition from Kenya in June 2021, Kanu has remained in detention under the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja. His trial has sparked widespread debate about human rights, rule of law, and judicial accountability in Nigeria.
The petition to the NBA reflects his effort to challenge the judiciary’s handling of his case while pushing for reforms to restore public confidence in the justice system.
