By Emeka Ugwuonye
There has been so many false information flying around about the case of Nnamadi Kanu. Unfortunately, many people are believing such false claims and are actually relying on them. Hence, I will identify 24 such false claims and debunk them.
1. Was the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act, 2013 ever repealed?
ANSWER: No, the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act of 2013 has not been repealed. The Act was an amendment to the original Terrorism (Prevention) Act of 2011 and introduced important changes, including provisions for extra-territorial application of the law and enhancements related to terrorist financing offenses.
2. Did the Nigerian Supreme Court rule that Nnamdi Kanu cannot be tried under the Terrorism Act?
ANSWER: The Nigerian Supreme Court did not explicitly rule that Nnamdi Kanu cannot be tried under the Terrorism Act. In October 2022, the Supreme Court of Nigeria dismissed the appeal filed by Kanu challenging the charge of terrorism against him, stating that his initial issue regarding jurisdiction was not substantiated, and the lower courts had the right to adjudicate the case. The court effectively upheld the earlier decisions that allowed for Kanu’s trial to proceed.
3. Is it true that Nnamdi Kanu is not being tried under a written law as the Constitution requires?
ANSWER: All the seven counts proffered against Nnamdi Kanu in the ongoing trial are based on written laws, principal the Criminal Code Act and the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act, both of which are written laws.
4. Is it true that Kanu does not know the law under which he was charged?
ANSWER: No, that is not true. Kanu knows the law and sections of the law under which the charges against him were brought. He became aware the moment they handed his charging documents and he read the charges against him. Each count of the charge states what he is alleged to have done wrong, the date and place where he did it and the law which declared his alleged actions to be a crime. Also, during his arraignment, the court official read out the charges to his hearing in open court and he was asked if he understood each charge and he answered Yes before pleading to each charge.
5. What offense exactly did the government of Nigeria accuse Nnamdi Kanu of committing?
ANSWER: The offenses the accused Kanu of committing fall into two groups. The first group is treasonable felony, which basically accuses Kanu of doing certain things with the intention and purpose of intimidating and threatening the officials of government with the purpose of forcing them to change policy – the secession of Biafra. The second group is the defamation of President Buhari. (This is the weakest of all the offences charged).
The third group relates to the terrorism offenses. Here is accused of incitement (the sit-at-home orders). These offenses are well-spelled out in the charging documents.
