Kanu Trial Suffers Setback As Court Throws Out Bail Application

The trial of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has once again suffered a setback as the trial judge, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday, declined to grant his bail application.

Kanu who has been standing trial at the Abuja High Court on charges bordering on alleged treasonable felony in the application, prayed the court to free him bail pending determination of the charges preferred against him.

Justice Nyako while ruling on the application, said Kanu had jumped bail in 2017 and therefore should be determined first before the present one is considered.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government on Wednesday morning, filed a six-count amended charge against Kanu before the court. It alleged that two of Kanu’s lawyers, Ifeanyi Ejiofor and Maxwell Opara, were “accomplices” in the case.

The prosecution alleged that the lawyers were in touch with Kanu in the period that he jumped bail and went abroad.

Following an objection from the IPOB leader’s lead counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome, the prosecuting lawyer, D.E. Kaswe, withdrew the charge.

Reacting to the amended charge, Nyako said she just received her own copy on Wednesday morning told the prosecuting counsel that he cannot “foist the amended charges on us like that.”

Kaswe subsequently, said “I am withdrawing the amended charge to allow today’s proceedings to go on,” with the subsisting seven-count charge.

In a chat with Prime Business Africa, Goddy Uwazurike, a senior lawyer and Igbo chieftain who was at the court to witness the trial, said the attention of the court was drawn to a 2019 motion which ought to be heard because it touched on what happened to Kanu in Umuahia.

Nyako who stressed the need for acceleration of the trial, adjourned till May 26.