The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, says he would stand trial only if the court grants him bail.
Mr Kanu whose proscribed group is seeking a secession of the five southeastern Nigeria states and parts of the south-south region, faces treason charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, Mr Kanu’s lead lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, told the judge, Binta Nyako, that his client would stand trial on the conditions that he is either granted bail or transferred from the State Security Service (SSS) detention facility to the Abuja prison.
Referencing the cases of Islamic cleric; Sheik El-Zaky Zaky, and Sambo Dasuki; a former National Security Adviser (NSA),
Mr Kanu requested to be put on house arrest to enable him to have unfettered access to his lawyers.
The court had ordered Mr Kanu’s arrest in March 2019 after adjudging him to have jumped bail.
The arrest order came months after the IPOB leader fled the country in the wake of the invasion of his home by soldiers in Afara-Ukwu, near Umuahia, Abia State, in September 2017.
Mr Kanu was re-arrested in Kenya in June 2021 and forcibly repatriated to Nigeria. He has since been in SSS custody in Abuja.
But in his argument on Wednesday, Mr Ejimakor said the court’s revocation of his client’s bail was based on misrepresentation of facts by the Nigerian government.
He insisted that Mr Kanu never breached any of the bail conditions until the soldiers raided his home, killing scores of people.
“We seek the transfer of the defendant from SSS’ detention to a house arrest or other similar places of custody or similar law enforcement agency’s custody.
“My Lord, it is important to do so. The application did not arrive in a vacuum. We made it orally and were directed to put it into writing. We are offering solutions to assist accelerate hearing ordered by the court.
“It is not strange to have a defendant detained in a house arrest. Sambo Dasuki and El-Zaky Zaky have enjoyed this in the past,” Mr Ejimakor told the judge.
Prosecution opposes Mr Kanu
The government was supposed to commence its case on Wednesday by calling its first prosecution witness.
But Mr Kanu’s fresh bail request stalled the trial.
The court had on three separate occasions rejected Mr Kanu’s bail applications.
Responding to Mr Kanu’s contention, the prosecution lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo, urged the court to reject the IPOB leader’s conditions for trial.
Mr Awomolo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), described the application as “frivolous, vexatious and baseless.”
He reminded the court that it had on several occasions denied Mr Kanu bail.
Mr Awomolo said the trial court had lost jurisdiction to entertain Mr Kanu’s fresh bail request as doing so would amount to sitting on appeal to overrule its own ruling.
The prosecution lawyer added that the appropriate forum for Mr Kanu’s bail application was the Court of Appeal.
He noted that it was out of place for the IPOB leader to dictate to the court how his trial would be conducted.
After listening to the lawyers’ arguments, the judge adjourned the suit until 20 May for ruling.
Background
The separatist leader was first apprehended in October in Lagos, South-west Nigeria, after he arrived in the country from the United Kingdom.
Mr Kanu holds the dual citizenship of Nigeria and the UK.
The judge had granted Mr Kanu bail on medical grounds in April 2017, after he was incarcerated for nearly two years.
However, Mr Kanu stopped attending court proceedings after the Nigerian military invaded his home in Abia State.
He was rearrested and returned to Nigeria where he faced terrorism and treasonable felony charges.
But Ms Nyako struck out eight out of the 15-count charge that the government filed against Mr Kanu.
Similarly, the Court of Appeal in Abuja dismissed the remaining eight count charges on the grounds that the government illegally repatriated Mr Kanu from Kenya in breach of both local and international laws.
However, in December 2023, the Supreme Court overturned the appellate court decision dismissing the trial.
The Supreme Court affirmed Ms Nyako’s decision solidifying the validity of the charges against Mr Kanu.
But, since the case resumed at the Federal High Court in Abuja following the Supreme Court decision, there has not been much progress because of preliminary issues regarding Mr Kanu’s bail and complaints about his “deteriorating” health conditions.
Mr Ejimakor has consistently argued that his client’s health conditions were getting worse by the day.
