The National Judicial Council (NJC) has refuted claims circulating on social media that the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, ordered the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Kanu has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since his rearrest in Kenya in 2021 and subsequent repatriation to Nigeria, where he faces trial on charges of treasonable felony.

Kanu's legal journey began in 2015 when he was initially arrested in Lagos alongside four others. However, he fled the country in 2017 following an attack on his father’s residence. His trial has since navigated through the Federal High Court in Abuja and even reached the Supreme Court before being sent back to the lower court. Recent developments include the recusal of Justice Binta Nyako, the initial trial judge, leading to the reassignment of the case to Justice James Omotosho. The case is scheduled to resume on Friday for a trial de novo.

Amidst these legal proceedings, social media reports surfaced, alleging that the CJN had directed Kanu's release from DSS custody and his repatriation to Kenya. The NJC has firmly dismissed these reports as false, clarifying that no court proceedings or judgments contain any such order attributed to the CJN. Mrs. Kemi Babalola Ogedengbe, the spokesperson for the NJC, issued a statement emphasizing that the CJN never formally communicated with the Kenyan Government or the Kenyan High Commission to apologize for Kanu's arrest and subsequent trial.

The NJC statement explicitly stated, "The attention of the National Judicial Council (NJC) has been drawn to media reports that the Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman of the Council, Hon. Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, GCON, has ordered release of the detained Nnamdi Kanu and repatriate him to Kenya." The council reiterated that the media reports are unfounded and a product of the writer's imagination, as there is no record of any court proceedings, decisions, or judgments where such statements were made by the CJN.

Furthermore, the NJC categorically affirmed that the CJN neither presided over any case involving Kanu at the apex court, where jurisdictional issues were debated, nor made any such pronouncements. The council reiterated that the CJN did not write any formal letter to the Kenyan Government or Kenya High Commission apologizing for the arrest and trial of Nnamdi Kanu.

The NJC has urged the public to disregard the fabricated story and rely on verified information from credible sources regarding the ongoing legal proceedings involving Nnamdi Kanu.