Heavy security in Abuja, as Ezeife leads Ohanaeze Ndigbo delegation to resumed trial of Kanu

Former Anambra State governor, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife is leading a delegation of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo to the resumed hearing in the trial of leader of the Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, in Abuja, Monday.

This is also as all major roads leading to the court premises have been declared closed by the Department of Security (DSS) in whose custody Kanu was remanded after his earlier bail application was rejected by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, during his Tuesday, June 29 appearance before the Abuja court upon extradition from abroad by the Nigerian government.

Ezeife was appointed by Ohanaeze Ndigbo to lead a delegation that will monitor court proceedings in the trial of Kanu in Abuja by the Nigerian government..

Kanu was brought to court by the DSS to resume his trial listed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, to be for offences bordering on ‘terrorism, treasonable felony, unlawful possession of firearms and management of an unlawful society.’

According to Malami, the United Kingdom-resident Kanu was arrested and extradited on Sunday, June 27, from a yet-to-be-disclosed country ‘following a collaborative effort between security agencies in Nigeria and the International Police (Interpol).’

Justice Binta Nyako had ordered that the IPOB leader be denied another bail and instead be kept in custody until July 26, 2021 for continuation of his trial.

Kanu had earlier jumped the bail application posted by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, as he allegedly fled to the United Kingdom to avoid prosecution by the Federal Government.

Kanu was first granted bail in April 2017 for health reasons, however, owing to his absence in court, Justice Nyako, who granted him the application, revoked it and ordered that he should be arrested.

The IPOB leader dismissed the arrest warrant issued against him and vowed to remain abroad to continue agitating for Biafra.

However, operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS), Tuesday, produced the IPOB leader and subsequently arraigned him before the Abuja court. He was produced in court in handcuffs before Justice Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, for last month’s proceedings.

Kanu was reportedly brought to the court amidst tight security at about 1:40 pm, Tuesday in a closed trial before the Justice Nyako court.

When allowed to speak during that hearing, Kanu told Justice Nyako that he jumped bail granted him by the same judge because his life was threatened.

According to Kanu, who was briefly granted permission to address the court after his docking by the DSS, Tuesday, June 29, following his arrest by the agency, earlier Sunday, the IPOB leader disclosed that he had to flee the country as security agencies continued to threaten his life.

Kanu told Justice Nyako that he left the country while still under trial for criminal charges of terrorism and treasonable felony brought against him by the federal government in order save himself from possible assassination.

Responding to the Federal Government’s counsel, Shuaib Labaran’s claims before Justice Nyako that Kanu had jumped bail previously in order to avoid trial, the IPOB leader said he would have been killed if he had not sought refuge abroad.

Labaran had applied to the court for an order to remand Kanu in the custody of the Department of State Service (DSS), which was granted.

“My house was unlawfully invaded by security men and my life seriously threatened. I would have been killed along with others on the day of the soldiers’ invasion of my home in Abia if not for the wisdom I applied to jump out of the country,” Kanu told Justice Nyako.