The family of detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, has accused the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) of “aiding injustice through silence,” alleging that the ongoing trial of the separatist leader is being conducted under a repealed and non-existent law.
Naijaonpoint reports that the family made the claim in a statement signed and released on Friday by Prince Emmanuel Kanu and titled “The NBA’s Silence Is Helping an Unlawful Court Case Against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, And It Is Breaking Our Constitution.”
The Okwu-Kanu family said it was deeply disappointed that the NBA, which is legally mandated to defend the rule of law, has not spoken out on what it described as “clear constitutional violations” surrounding Kanu’s prosecution.
According to the statement, “The NBA has failed in its duty, and its silence in the face of clear constitutional violations has allowed an unlawful and fake court case against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to continue.”
The family accused the association of ignoring the fact that Kanu is being prosecuted under a repealed law, insisting that the Terrorism (Prevention Amendment) Act 2013, on which the charges are based, ceased to exist with the enactment of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act of 2022.
‘No Jurisdiction, No Trial’ – Kanu’s Family Insists
The statement noted that Section 76(1)(d)(iii) of the 2022 Act requires “double criminality,” meaning that a Nigerian court cannot try a person for an alleged offence committed in another country unless that country also recognises the act as a crime.
“Kenya has never accused, investigated, or charged Mazi Nnamdi Kanu with any crime of any kind,” the family wrote.
“This means there is no double criminality and therefore no jurisdiction, and without jurisdiction, a trial is impossible. This is a basic law that any second-year law student understands.”
The family also accused the NBA of pretending that Supreme Court precedents on repealed laws “do not exist,” citing cases such as Okenwa v. Military Governor of Imo State, Akinyede v. The Appraiser, Uwaifo v. Attorney-General of Bendel State, and Aoko v. Fagbemi.
“These cases all affirm that a repealed criminal law is dead, wiped away, and cannot legally support a prosecution,” the statement added.
Reacting to arguments that the “savings clause” in Section 98(3) of the 2022 Act preserved Kanu’s trial, the family said the position was “legally baseless,” arguing that the case before Justice Omotosho is a fresh matter, not an old proceeding that could be “saved.”
“Besides, no clause in any Act can override the Constitution, and Section 36(12) cannot be defeated by legislative wording,” it added.
‘Why Is NBA Afraid to Speak?’ – Kanu’s Family Queries
The family accused the association of abandoning its responsibility to defend the Constitution.
“We must therefore ask a difficult question: why is the NBA refusing to say what is clearly true? Has the NBA become afraid of the government? Has it lost the courage to speak?” the statement asked.
According to the Okwu-Kanu family, the NBA’s silence sends a dangerous message that Nigerian lawyers “no longer defend their own laws,” thereby normalising judicial misconduct and emboldening illegal detentions.
The family stressed that Kanu’s case reflects systemic problems that have left many Nigerians imprisoned under defective or repealed laws.
“When the Bar refuses to challenge obvious illegality, it normalises abuses, empowers judges who ignore clear legal limits, and leaves ordinary Nigerians helpless,” the statement read.
It added that “many Nigerians remain in prison today because their cases were handled carelessly by lawyers who did not challenge invalid charges.”
The family urged the NBA to publicly acknowledge that no Nigerian can be tried under a repealed law, and to reaffirm that double criminality is a mandatory prerequisite under Section 76 of the 2022 Act.
“The NBA must now decide whether it wants to be an institution that protects the rule of law or one that passively watches injustice spread,” it said.
The statement concluded with a warning that history would judge the association harshly if it failed to act.
“The rule of law in Nigeria is slowly dying, and the NBA’s silence is part of the reason.
“This issue is bigger than Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. It concerns whether Nigeria remains a nation governed by valid laws or becomes a place where dead laws are dragged back from the grave to imprison citizens,” it concluded.
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