Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has filed a fresh motion at the Supreme Court, seeking a review of its December 2023 judgment which ordered his retrial at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The motion, filed in suit No. SC/CR/1361/2022 between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Nnamdi Kanu, requests the apex court to extend the time for him to apply for an order reviewing the said judgment.
Kanu is asking the court to deem his application for review as “properly filed and served” and to make any further orders it deems fit.
The IPoB leader, currently in detention, argued that the judgment delivered on December 18, 2023, was per incuriam—having been based on laws that were no longer in force.
He contended that the ruling “was made sub silentio of the extant Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022,” and therefore violated Section 36(12) of the Constitution and Section 122 of the Evidence Act, 2011.
Kanu explained that he only recently gained full access to his case file on October 26, 2025, after deciding to personally oversee his defence from October 21. He said his delayed application was due to the constraints of his custodial conditions and lack of access to records.
“The complaint now raised touches the very root of jurisdiction — a domain to which time and technicality pay no homage,” he stated in the motion.
Supporting the motion, Kanu’s younger brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, in a sworn affidavit, confirmed that the detained separatist leader was unable to file earlier due to limited access to legal materials and his defence team.
Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, is expected to deliver judgment on November 20 in the terrorism charge filed against Kanu by the Federal Government.
