Nnamdi Kanu: Broadcast locations created legal flaw, says Ejimakor

Former lead counsel to Nnamdi Kanu, Aloy Ejimakor, has argued that the prosecution's failure to disclose the locations where the alleged broadcasts against Kanu were made created a fundamental jurisdictional question in his terrorism trial. Kanu's defense team took issue with the omission, as the broadcasts allegedly occurred between 2018 and 2021 while Kanu was outside the country.

Ejimakor explained that the location was legally significant due to changes introduced by the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act 2022, which replaced the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act 2013. The repealed 2013 law provided the Federal High Court with extraterritorial jurisdiction over certain terrorism offenses committed outside of Nigeria, regardless of whether the act was considered an offense in the foreign country.

However, the 2022 law introduced the doctrine of double criminality, requiring that an act committed outside Nigeria also constitute an offense under the laws of the foreign country where it occurred. Ejimakor pointed out that the prosecution's failure to identify the foreign countries where the broadcasts took place prevented the court from determining whether the conduct amounted to an offense in the relevant foreign jurisdiction.

Consequently, he argued that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to proceed with the trial based on the unidentifed broadcast locations.