The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), has insisted that the federal government will not release the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, despite a ruling by the Court of Appeal dismissing all treasonable felony charges against him and discharging him.
Malami said the release of Kanu was both a matter of rule of law and also an issue of national security as he has been designated a threat to Nigeria’s security.
“In arriving at a decision on whether to release or not release, is one; you look at the rule of law, two; you look at the public and the national interest, three; you look at the security situation, four; you look at international diplomacy.
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“Let me talk first about the rule of law. This is someone that has been granted bail on account of charges that have been preferred against him at the court. Someone jumping bail to the international community, a case of a fugitive is established against the background of jumping the bail.
“Two, arising from the national security, this is someone that is charged with treason, incitement and destruction of civil authority, murder and assassination of others on account of his incitement, that boils down to issues of national security and criminality.
“Three, on account of international diplomacy, this is someone that has, against his person, used the international community or a foreign country to launch an attack against a nation, against his nation for that matter.
“So all these naturally come into play to determine what to do. So if you have through judicial processes establish multiple cases of treason, homicide, bail-jumping among others; the fact that you have indeed succeeded in one case as against multiple others that are pending goes to establish the fact that that case cannot be the only basis and criteria for determining whether you are entitled to be released or not,” the nation’s number one law officer said.