Lawyer Asks Tinubu To Enter Nolle Prosequi In Nnamdi Kanu’s Case, End All Trial In Obedience To Court Orders
Lawyer Asks Tinubu To Enter Nolle Prosequi In Nnamdi Kanu’s Case, End All Trial In Obedience To Court Orders
Nnamdi Kanu
According to him, the court order in Suit No. ABJ/CMC/CR/21/2015 was “blatantly ignored” by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Aformer legal counsel to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, urging him to intervene decisively in the long-running prosecution.
The lawyer, Vincent Egechukwu Obetta, Esq., called for the immediate release of Kanu and advised the President to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) to consider entering a nolle prosequi —effectively ending the federal case.
Obetta, who represented Kanu at the onset of his legal troubles in 2015, stated that the matter has now reached a “grave constitutional and international dimension,” adding that the continued detention of the Biafran leader “can no longer be ignored.”
In the seven-page letter dated November 17, 2025, Obetta accused successive administrations of “serial disobedience of court orders,” beginning with Kanu’s first bail granted by the Chief Magistrate Court in Wuse, Abuja.
According to him, the court order in Suit No. ABJ/CMC/CR/21/2015 was “blatantly ignored” by the Department of State Services (DSS).
“That court order granting him bail was disobeyed as he was held by the State Security Service till date,” Obetta wrote. “These orders remain unimplemented to this day.”
He also cited a 2015 ruling by Justice A.F.A. Ademola of the Federal High Court, which dismissed the government’s application to keep Kanu in detention for 90 additional days.
The court, he said, ordered Kanu’s unconditional release.
Obetta insisted that disobedience to such rulings contravenes Section 287(3) of the 1999 Constitution, warning that “persistent disobedience strikes at the heart of the rule of law.”
“You cannot put something on nothing…” The lawyer argued that because the state has consistently refused to comply with binding judicial decisions, it has lost the legal standing to continue prosecuting Kanu.
Quoting Lord Denning, he wrote: “You cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand.”
He described the continuing trial as “an abuse of judicial process and a grave affront to judicial authority.”
Obetta also revisited the controversial June 2021 arrest of Kanu in Kenya, describing it as a “state-engineered abduction” that violated the Nigerian Constitution, the Extradition Act, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
He cited the judgement of the High Court of Kenya in Petition No. E359 of 2021, which ruled that Kanu’s arrest and transfer to Nigeria were illegal and unconstitutional. The Kenyan court awarded Kanu 10 million Kenyan shillings in damages.
The lawyer highlighted what he called “copious contradictions” between the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court decisions on Kanu’s case.
According to the letter, the Court of Appeal in CA/ABJ/CR/625/2022 made a “clear and unequivocal finding” that Kanu’s rendition was illegal and that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction over the remaining terrorism charges. The appellate court then quashed the charges and ordered his release.
“The Court expressly stated that the prosecution had lost the legal right to continue the case,” Obetta wrote.
However, in December 2023, the Supreme Court restored the terrorism charges, although it acknowledged the controversies surrounding his rendition.
Obetta argued that these conflicting positions make it necessary for President Tinubu to intervene “in the interest of justice, order, and national stability.”
The lawyer warned that the prolonged detention of the IPOB leader has fueled tension in the South-East and damaged the country’s global reputation.
“A government that disregards its own courts sends a troubling message that the law is optional,” he said, referencing the Supreme Court’s warning in Governor of Lagos State v. Ojukwu against “executive lawlessness.”
He added that disobedience to both local and international judicial decisions “fetters Nigeria’s international commitments” and undermines global confidence in the country’s justice system.
Obetta urged President Tinubu to take four urgent steps which include; “Ensure compliance with all binding court decisions. Order the immediate release of Nnamdi Kanu.
“Direct the AGF to consider filing a nolle prosequi. Pursue a peaceful, reconciliatory approach to restore national unity.”
Describing the move as necessary for healing national wounds, Obetta said: “A nolle prosequi is the only viable legal option that will heal the sore wounds that Mazi Kanu’s persecution has opened.”
He concluded by appealing to Tinubu’s leadership, that decisive action “will restore confidence in the rule of law, ease tensions, and strengthen Nigeria’s standing at home and abroad.”
Obetta signed the letter as a “Patriotic Nigerian.”
