The family of detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has raised concerns over what it described as undue delay in the hearing of his pending cases, urging the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, and the President of the Court of Appeal to urgently list them for hearing.

The family, in a statement signed by Prince Emmanuel Kanu on Tuesday, said it was concerned that while the judiciary had acted within 14 days in 2022 to restrain Kanu’s release, months had passed without hearing his current cases challenging his continued detention and life sentence.

It said Kanu had separately petitioned the CJN and the President of the Court of Appeal, requesting that the cases be listed and heard without further delay.

According to the statement, Kanu commenced proceedings at the Supreme Court on November 7, 2025, challenging the legality of the apex court’s December 15, 2023 remittal judgment.

The family, however, said the case had yet to be listed for hearing, adding that the Federal Government, despite being served with the court process, had allegedly not filed a substantive response more than nine months after the case was instituted.

Similarly, it said Kanu’s appeal against his November 20, 2025 conviction and life sentence remained pending at the Court of Appeal.

The family said Kanu’s Appellant’s Brief was filed and served on the Federal Government on June 5, 2026, but the prescribed period for filing the Respondent’s Brief had elapsed without one being filed.

‘Fourteen days to stop his release’

The family based its demand on the Court of Appeal’s October 13, 2022 judgment, which discharged Kanu and quashed the criminal charges against him.

It recalled that the Federal Government subsequently obtained a stay of execution on October 28, 2022, 14 days after the judgment, preventing Kanu from regaining his freedom following the appellate court’s decision.

The family questioned why similar urgency had not been demonstrated in the current proceedings, in which Kanu is seeking judicial determination of the legality of his detention and life sentence.

“Fourteen days were enough for a differently constituted panel of a functus officio Court of Appeal to deploy civil procedure against an acquittal-equivalent discharge. Months cannot now be acceptable merely to list proceedings in which that same man’s liberty is at stake,” it said.

The family stressed that Kanu was not asking the courts to rule in his favour, but to hear and determine his cases in accordance with the law.

“If the Federal Government believes the Supreme Court remittal was lawful, let it appear and defend it. If it believes the conviction and life sentence are lawful, let it file its papers and defend them,” the family said.

Family to notify US Congress, Israeli Knesset, IBA

The family also disclosed plans to formally notify the United States Congress, Israeli Knesset and International Bar Association, IBA, of what it described as an “unacceptable delay” in the handling of Kanu’s cases.

It said the relevant chronology and court records would be presented to the international bodies for consideration.

The family consequently urged the Supreme Court to list and hear Kanu’s challenge to the 2023 remittal judgment and called on the Court of Appeal to similarly list and hear his appeal against his conviction and life sentence.

It also urged the Federal Government to appear before the courts and defend the judicial decisions on which Kanu’s continued detention is based.

“We ask for no favour. We ask for no predetermined judgment. We ask only that liberty receive at least the same judicial urgency previously given to its restraint,” the family said. (Vanguard)

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