The National Judicial Council has debunked reports that the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has been released and repatriated back to Kenya. NJC in a statement signed by its Deputy Director of Information, Kemi Ogedengbe, on Thursday in Abuja, emphasised that the purported report is a fabrication and a figment of the writers’ imagination.

The council clarified that while the release is attributed to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, there is no court decision from her to substantiate the claim. Kanu is currently facing a seven-count terrorism charge brought against him by the Federal Government.

He was first arrested on October 14, 2015, following his return to Nigeria from the UK. He was later granted bail in 2017 on health grounds after being detained at the Kuje Correctional Facility. However, Kanu jumped bail and returned to the United Kingdom. He was re-arrested in Kenya in 2021 and extradited to Nigeria, where he has remained in the custody of the Department of State Services till date.

Kanu’s trial, which was briefly stalled due to his demand for a change in his trial judge, is set to continue on Friday, March 21, before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja.The council added that the CJN never wrote any formal letter to the Kenyan Government or High Commission apologizing for the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu or his trial. It urged members of the public to disregard the fake story.