Counsel to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Aloy Ejimakor, has said the Federal Government’s Notice of Cross-Appeal against a Federal High Court judgment has admitted that the trial court acted without jurisdiction.
In a statement issued on Sunday, June 7, 2026, and signed by IPOB spokesperson Emma Powerful, the group said the FG’s cross-appeal filed against the November 20, 2025 judgment of Justice J.K. Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, stated that the court lacked jurisdiction when it imposed life imprisonment on Counts 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6.
IPOB said Kanu “accepts this premise in toto” and adopted the Federal Government’s submission as its own position.
The group argued that jurisdiction is not divisible and that if the trial court lacked jurisdiction at the sentencing phase, the entire sentencing exercise is a nullity ab initio.
It cited the Supreme Court decision in Madukolu v. Nkemdilim (1962), which held that once a feature prevents a court from exercising jurisdiction, the entire proceedings are null and void.
IPOB further stated that the Court of Appeal cannot cure or resuscitate a sentencing process that the Federal Government itself declared jurisdictionally defective.
It described the FG’s attempt to seek the death penalty on the same counts as “approbating and reprobating”.
The statement called on the Court of Appeal to dismiss the cross-appeal and allow Kanu’s main appeal in its entirety, leading to his “immediate and unconditional release”.
The Federal Government had filed the cross-appeal seeking to overturn the trial court’s judgment and secure harsher penalties against Kanu.
Kanu’s Counsel Cites FG Cross-Appeal, Says Trial Court Lacked Jurisdiction
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