Kanu’s Counsel Bruce Fein Reacts to Dismissal of No-Case Submission

United States-based lawyer to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Bruce Fein, has expressed concern over the ruling of the Federal High Court in Abuja which dismissed the no-case submission filed by Kanu’s legal team. In a letter addressed to Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, […]

United States-based lawyer to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Bruce Fein, has expressed concern over the ruling of the Federal High Court in Abuja which dismissed the no-case submission filed by Kanu’s legal team.

In a letter addressed to Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, and made available to journalists on Wednesday, Fein said the court’s decision raised legal and moral questions in light of previous international opinions concerning the circumstances surrounding Kanu’s transfer to Nigeria.

Quoting U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis in Olmstead v. United States (1928), Fein wrote:

“In a government of laws, the existence of the government will be imperiled if it fails to observe the law scrupulously… Our Government is the potent, omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example.”

Fein referred to the 2022 opinion of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which, according to him, called for Kanu’s release.

He argued that the issues surrounding Kanu’s transfer and detention should be given full consideration in determining the court’s jurisdiction.

Fein urged Justice Omotosho to take the international perspectives into account in ensuring that due process is upheld.

However, in his ruling earlier this month, Justice Omotosho held that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against Kanu, sufficient to require him to enter his defence.

The court ruled that the evidence presented by the prosecution could not be dismissed at the preliminary stage, as it raised issues to be properly addressed during the full trial.

Justice Omotosho therefore dismissed the no-case submission filed by Kanu’s legal team, holding that the matter should proceed to defence.

Fein, who serves as Kanu’s international counsel, reiterated in his letter that justice must remain the guiding principle in all proceedings.