Court Denies Kanu Bail, Strikes Out Application, Adjourns Hearing

The Leader of The Indigenous People Of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu appeared in Court today for the hearing and ruling if his bail application.

Recall that Nnamdi Kanu was first granted bail on April 2017, and went on exile to UK and Isreal after the Nigerian military invaded his house in an attempt to assassinate him but ended up killing 28 civilians in the compound.

The court in the last sitting denied him immediate bail on an allegation that he jumped bail the last time it was given to him, then ordered the lawyers to file for a fresh bail with reasons why he jumped bail the last time.

A Federal court in Umuahia, the capital city of Abia State and the hometown of Nnamdi Kanu has ruled that Nnamdi Kanu didn’t jump bail and awarded him 1bn damage.

Barr Aloy Ejimakor, the special counsel to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu had stated that Buhari doesn’t decide bail, Court does, we shall test the Independence of the Nigerian judiciary on the 28th June.

Justice Binta Nyako of the federal high court Abuja has denied IPOB leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu Bail during a court hearing supposedly to be the final verdict, instead Justice Nyako denied Kanu Bail on grounds of flight risk and
adjourned case till 14 of November 2022 pending the determination of the appeal court as filed by his lawyers.

Today’s Court Details

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday dismissed a fresh application for bail by the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.

The application was filed pending the determination of the treasonable felony charge against him by the Federal Government.

Kanu, who is currently facing a seven-count charge, had in the application he filed through his team of lawyers led by Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), also challenged the revocation of the bail the court earlier granted to him.

He asked the court to set aside the order it made on March 28, 2019, which not only issued a bench warrant for his arrest, but also gave FG the nod to try him in absentia.

The IPOB leader told the court that contrary to FG’s allegation that he jumped bail, he fled for his life after his home town at Afaraukwu Ibeku in Umuahia, Abia State, was invaded by soldiers, which he said led to the death of 28 persons.

While contending that he was denied a fair hearing before his bail was revoked, Kanu attached eight exhibits that included photographs, as well as an affidavit he deposed from Isreal, after he fled from the country.

Meanwhile, dismissing the bail request on Tuesday, Justice Binta Nyako said she was not satisfied with the reason the IPOB leader gave for his failure to appear in court for the continuation of his trial.

The trial judge noted that from records of the court, Kanu was represented by his lawyer on the day his bail was revoked, likewise his sureties.

“In fact, the sureties told the court that they did not know the whereabouts of the Defendant and even applied to be discharged from the matter.

“Therefore, Defendant was not denied a fair hearing”.

Justices Nyako also held that though a court could vacate a previous order when confronted with a cogent and verifiable reason, “in the instant case, I have not been given any, neither have I been given any reason to set aside the order.

“The present application amounts to an abuse of court process for attempting to relitigate an issue already decided by the court.

“If the Defendant is dissatisfied, he has the Appeal Court to go to. This application is accordingly dismissed”, Justice Nyako said.

The Judge had also on March 18, declined to release the embattled IPOB leader on bail.

The court maintained that Kanu must explain the reason he breached the previous bail that was given to him, before he could enjoy another favourable discretion from it.

“Until the issue of the absence of the defendant for his trial, with all the bail conditions breached, is determined, the instant application of the defendant for bail will at best be premature and it is refused.

“However, the defendant is at liberty to re-file the application”, Justice Nyako said.

Meanwhile, the case has been adjourned till November 14 for mention, to await the outcome of Kanu’s appeal.