A Federal High Court, Abuja has on Wednesday refused to grant the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, bail.
Justice Binta Nyako, in a ruling, held that since Kanu was earlier granted bail in 2017 and jumped the bail, the court must first determine the real reason he jumped the bail before applying for another one.
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She added that Kanu breached his former bail conditions, and until that is heard, his present bail application is immature.
Justice Nyako then dismissed the application for bail, NAN reports.
The court had, on April 8, exonerated the Federal Government on the allegation that the leader of the IPOB was forcefully abducted abroad to stand his trial.
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Nyako, in a ruling, held that rendition for the purpose of criminal investigation is allowed.
The judge said since Kanu was on a bench warrant, the law allowed that anywhere he is sighted, he can be arrested and be brought to face his trial.
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Nyako stated;
“Rendition for the purpose of criminal investigation is allowed.”
Ahead of the ruling on the bail application, on Wednesday morning, the Federal Government had filed a six-count amended charge against Kanu.
Justice Nyako, however, berated the prosecution for filing the amended charge just hours before the ruling. She said she was not aware of the amended charge until she got to the court in the morning.
According to her, the prosecution cannot dump the new amended charge on the court, on the morning of the hearing.
Various Setbacks
On dismissing his bail application, the court noted that Kanu’s trial had since 2015, suffered various setbacks owing to over 19 interlocutory applications that have been filed in the matter.
It, therefore, implored the parties to allow the case to proceed to trial to enable the charge to be determined.
Kanu had in the application he filed pursuant to sections 6(6) and 36(5) and (6) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as sections 161, 162, 163 and 165 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015, prayed the court to release him on bail, pending by determination of the charge against him.
Kanu had been arraigned in an Abuja Magistrate Court for the first time for charges of “criminal conspiracy, intimidation and membership of an illegal organisation” by Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS).
The charges violated “Section 97, 97B and 397” of Nigeria’s penal code with Chief Magistrate S. Usman berating the Department of State Services (DSS) for failure to produce Kanu in court on the two consecutive times the matter came up before the court.
Kanu’s supporters stormed Abuja in luxury buses in a peaceful protest against their leader who was arraigned by the Federal Government before the Wuse Zone 2 Magistrate Court, Abuja on 23 November 2015.
