Nigerian government, by its appeal, seeks to have the judgement of the Court of Appeal freeing the IPOB leader from terrorism and treasonable felony charges overturned.
The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing of the case concerning the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, until 14 September.
The case mainly involves the federal government's appeal challenging last year's decision of the Court of Appeal dismissing the terrorism and treasonable felony charges against Mr Kanu.
The Biafra secessionist also has a pending before the Supreme Court, an application for bail with an alternative prayer for transfer of his custody from the State Security Service (SSS) to the Kuje correction centre in Abuja.
A five-member panel of Justices led by John Okoro, on Thursday, adjourned the suit despite frantic efforts by Mr Kalu's legal team to convince the court to hear the case and not to defer it to another date.
The IPOB leader's lead counsel, Mike Ozekhome, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had during the proceedings, urged the court to hear a motion that could help address his client's fast-deteriorating health conditions in SSS custody.
But the federal government's lawyer, Tijani Gadzali, a SAN, objected to the position, asking for time to file a response to Mr Ozekhome's reply brief.
The court, swayed by Mr Gadzali's position, adjourned the case until 27 September.
The panel had on 27 April adjourned the case until Thursday for hearing of applications that have cropped up in the appeal.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that Mr Ozekhome informed reporters after Thursday's proceedings that he has a pending application seeking the release of Mr Kanu on bail, or an order transferring the detainee from the SSS custody to the Kuje correctional centre in Abuja.
Speaking of the IPOB leader's state of health in SSS custody, Mr Ozekhome said, "I expressed my fear regarding Kanu's state of health which I described as life threatening."
"The court requires an individual to stand trial, not to 'sit down trial', 'lie down trial' or 'prostrate trial', which means that Kanu, with his state of health, cannot stand trial," the lawyer added.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Supreme Court, at its previous sitting, granted the federal government leave to increase its grounds of appeal from to 13.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Both the federal government's appeal and Mr Kau's application are the two major matters pending at the court for hearing.
Background
Mr Kanu, who leads a separatist campaign for the secession of the mainly Igbo-speaking South-east states and parts of neighbouring states as an independent Biafra Republic, is being incarcerated at the headquarters of the State Security Service (SSS) in Abuja.
His trial on charges of treasonable felony and terrorism started after his arrest over his separatist activities in 2015. But the case went into a pause after he fled the country in the wake of a military invasion of his home in Afara-Ukwu, Abia State, while he was on bail in September 2017.
The IPOB leader was forcibly brought back from Kenya by the Nigerian government in June 2021 to face trial.
However, ruling on an application Mr Kanu later filed to challenge the entire 15 charges, the trial Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed eight of the counts adjudged to be inappropriate.
Displeased with the partial discharge handed down by the court, Mr Kanu proceeded on appeal to the Court of Appeal in Abuja to attack the rest of the seven counts.
The Court of Appeal acceded to his request by dismissing the remaining seven counts, and ordering his release from custody in its judgement handed down on 13 October 2022.
The appellate court based its decision on its finding that the extraordinary rendition mode of returning Mr Kanu to Nigeria breached both local and international laws.
