The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Friday stopped the execution of its judgement which discharged Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Mr Kanu was initially discharged and the terrorism charges against him quashed by a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice Oludotun Adefope-Okojie on October 13.
The court said the forcible repatriation of Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria last year June to face terrorism charges was illegal.
However, in a ruling on Friday, Justice Haruna Tsanami leading a panel of the Court of Appeal, in Abuja, ordered that the enforcement of the judgment releasing Mr Kanu be put on hold.
The Federal Government had applied that the execution of the judgment is suspended pending the resolution of its appeal filed at the Supreme Court.
Tsanami, in the ruling, held that the counter-affidavit filed against the government application by Kanu’s legal team led by Mike Ozekhome was misleading.
The judge said that Kanu’s counsel did not properly state the facts of the matter as to warrant the court granting a stay of execution.
The court also ruled that the record of proceedings in respect of the October 13 judgment be forwarded to the apex court within seven days to ensure expeditious hearing.
The Federal Government had applied that the execution of the judgment be suspended pending the hearing and determination of its appeal at the Supreme Court.
The apex court has, however, not fixed a date to hear the Federal Government’s appeal against the appellate court’s ruling that discharged Kanu and quashed the terrorism charges against him.
