The Mazi Nnamdi Kanu Global Defence Consortium (MNKGDC) has accused Nigeria’s judiciary of perpetuating a “jurisdictional farce” and aiding executive lawlessness in the ongoing prosecution of the detained IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
In a detailed advocacy brief issued on October 13, 2025, the consortium described Kanu’s trial as a “zombie proceeding,” claiming that the prosecution legally died between October 13 and 21, 2022, following his discharge and acquittal by the Court of Appeal. The group alleged that a subsequent stay of execution issued by a panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani was “corrupt, ultra vires, and legally impossible,” having been granted after the case had already lapsed.
According to MNKGDC, this “eight-day jurisdictional vacuum” rendered Kanu’s detention unlawful and stripped the government of any legal basis to continue his trial. The consortium also argued that the Supreme Court’s later decision to remit the case for retrial could not revive the repealed terrorism law under which Kanu was charged.
Calling the prosecution a “grotesque perversion of justice,” the group urged the international community, including the UN, ICC, and African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to intervene and demand Kanu’s immediate release. It also called for investigations into alleged judicial corruption and executive interference in the case.
“Justice delayed is justice denied—but justice corrupted is justice dead,” the consortium declared, urging global solidarity under the hashtag #FreeNnamdiKanuNow.