Nnamdi Kanu: FCT court fixes March 19 for fresh bail application

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has fixed March 19, 2024, to rule on a fresh bail application brought by the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

Persecondnews reports that the embattled leader of IPOB had filed a fresh application to be released on bail pending the determination of the treasonable felony charge the Federal Government slammed on him.

Kanu’s lawyer, Mr. Aloy Ejimakor, called the attention of Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to the motion for bail dated February 5.

He further told the court that Kanu had also filed a preliminary objection to challenge the competence of the charge pending against him.

The defense counsel urged the court to grant Kanu bail on “most liberal terms,” citing his “deteriorating health.”

He claimed that a federal government-owned hospital had confirmed the IPOB leader’s serious heart condition.

“Our humble submission is that the medical condition of the defendant speaks for itself and the health challenge persists, despite the treatment offered him by the detaining authority,” Ejimako told the court.

He maintained that Kanu’s continued detention by the Department of State Services (DSS) posed a threat to his life.

Meanwhile, the federal government’s lawyer, Mr. Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), opposed both Kanu’s fresh bail application and his preliminary objection, describing it as an abuse of the court process.

He argued that it would be wrong for the court to allow Kanu’s counsel to dictate how the proceedings should be conducted.

According to Awomolo, it is an insult for Kanu’s lawyer to list what must be done before the trial will commence, adding that the defendant’s rights were never breached by the DSS.

He told the court that the security agency has been diligent in protecting Kanu’s life, while urging the court to reject Kanu’s request for bail and order an accelerated hearing of the case.

According to the prosecution counsel, Section 161 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, stipulates that the defendant must prove that the authorities failed to grant him access to quality healthcare at his detention centre.

Speaking further, the senior lawyer contended that there was nothing tangible that was brought before the court to establish the exceptional circumstances that would warrant Kanu’s release on bail.

He said the court had earlier revoked the defendant’s bail after he violated the conditions attached to it.

“There is no evidence before the court that Kanu will not jump bail again,” Awomolo said.

Justice Nyako, however, adjourned the case to March 19, after listening to Kanu’s lawyer, Ejimakor, and the prosecution counsel, Awomolo.

Persecondnews reports that the IPOB leader, who was first arrested by security agents in Lagos on October 14, 2015, has been in detention since June 29, 2021.

Justice Nyako, on April 25, 2017, granted him bail on health grounds after he had spent about 18 months in detention.

Upon the perfection of the bail conditions, he was released on April 28, 2017, from Kuje prison.

However, midway into the trial, the IPOB leader escaped out of the country after soldiers invaded his country home at Afara Ukwu Ibeku in Umuahia, Abia State, an operation that led to the deaths of some of his followers.

Kanu was later re-arrested in Kenya on June 19, 2021, and extraordinarily renditioned back to the country by security agents on June 27, 2021.

Following the development, the court remanded him on June 29, 2021, into the custody of DSS, where he is still being kept to date.