Detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, has filed a new motion before the Federal High Court in Abuja, asking the court to dismiss all charges against him and order his immediate release.
In the motion dated October 30, 2025, and titled “Motion on Notice and Written Address in Support,” Kanu argued that the charges currently pending before the court are invalid and have no legal basis under Nigerian law.
He maintained that the charges are “a nullity ab initio for want of any extant legal foundation.”
Representing himself, the IPOB leader filed the motion under Sections 1(3), 6(6)(b), and 36(12) of the 1999 Constitution, as well as the Evidence Act 2011 and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act (TPPA) 2022.
Kanu said the prosecution based its case on repealed and non-existent laws, including the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA), which was replaced by the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, and the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act 2013, which was repealed by the TPPA 2022.
He argued that using such repealed laws violates Section 36(12) of the Constitution, which forbids any person from being tried for an offence not defined under an existing law.
According to him, “The charges filed against me are legally baseless. They do not constitute any offence known to law and must therefore be struck out in their entirety.”
Kanu cited the Supreme Court’s decision in FRN v. Kanu (SC/CR/1361/2022), noting that all lower courts are bound to take judicial notice of repealed laws under Section 122 of the Evidence Act 2011. He said any proceeding based on such repealed laws is automatically void.
He also argued that some of the alleged offences were said to have been committed in Kenya, making them inadmissible under Section 76(1)(d)(iii) of the TPPA 2022, which requires approval by a Kenyan court before such acts can be prosecuted in Nigeria.
Kanu said this error stripped the Federal High Court of extraterritorial jurisdiction and violated Article 7(2) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
He further maintained that under Sections 1(3) and 36(12) of the Constitution, any law or court action inconsistent with the Constitution is void. He referenced notable cases including Aoko v. Fagbemi (1961) 1 All NLR 400 and FRN v. Ifegwu (2003) 15 NWLR (Pt 842) 113, where courts nullified convictions based on non-existent laws.
Kanu urged the court to compel the prosecution to reply to his motion strictly on points of law within three days and deliver a ruling by November 4, 2025.
He concluded that his motion is purely constitutional and raises only legal questions derived from valid statutes; hence, it does not require any supporting affidavit.