Attorney General Abubakar Malami has said he will not release Nnamdi Kanu despite the ruling of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal that freed the Biafra separatist leader of terrorism and other charges instituted against him by the Nigerian government.

A three-judge panel of the appellate court ruled on Thursday afternoon that Mr Kanu was illegally extracted from Kenya by Nigerian agents in a process known internationally as extraordinary rendition but which rights experts define as an abduction. The judges said the Nigerian government could not charge Mr Kanu for any offence in Nigeria until federal authorities are able to explain how they moved him from Nairobi to Abuja in June 2022.

The judges described the government’s action as not only illegal but reckless and dangerous to national security, adding that the extradition process exists for the clear purpose of preserving human rights and maintaining international peace. 

But Mr Malami, in a statement shortly after the ruling, said he would continue to hold Mr Kanu in custody with the aim of pursuing other charges against him.

The attorney-general falsely claimed that today’s Appeal Court ruling was only about the illegality of Mr Kanu’s forced removal from Kenya and transfer to Nigeria. But the judges specifically said no charges could be filed against Mr Kanu on any other matter unless the question of how he was brought back to Nigeria had first been resolved, and, from all evidence tendered before the court, it was a case of abduction sanctioned by President Muhammadu Buhari. 

“For the avoidance of doubt and by the verdict of the Court, Kanu was only discharged and not acquitted,” Mr Malami claimed in a statement circulated on his behalf by his media aide Umar Gwandu. “Consequently, the appropriate legal options before the authorities will be exploited and communicated accordingly to the public.”

“The decision handed down by the court of appeal was on a single issue that borders on rendition,” he added. “Let it be made clear to the general public that other issues that predate rendition on the basis of which Kanu jumped bail remain valid issues for judicial determination.”

“The Federal Government will consider all available options open to us on the judgment on rendition while pursuing determination of pre-rendition issues,” the attorney-general said. 

Mr Kanu’s supporters have begun nationwide celebrations after news of his discharge and acquittal by the Court of Appeal spread through the country. 

Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have similarly welcomed the ruling as a plus for democracy.