Again, Court denies Nnamdi Kanu of bail, as IPOB leader alleges death plot in DSS custody

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday denied the appeal for bail made by Nnamdi Kanu, the incarcerated leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who is facing trial for treasonable felony charges brought against him by the Federal Government.

Kanu had also urged the Federal High Court to send him to Kuje prison, because, according to him the Department of State Services, DSS, has no medical facility to treat him, adding that there was a conspiracy for him to die in the DSS custody.

He said, “People will come to see me, they will not allow them. They don’t have a medical facility. I have congestive heart failure. They are patching me up. My foot is swollen. I asked them to conduct surgery, and they said they couldn’t. There is a conspiracy for me to die in detention. I want to be transferred to Kuje.”

Rejecting Kanu’s plea for bail, the trial Justice, Binta Nyako, however, directed an expedited hearing of the seven-count charge against Kanu.

Pleading for release on humanitarian grounds due to his deteriorating health, Kanu’s legal team, led by Mr. Alloy Ejimakor, submitted an application on February 5.

However, the court opted to proceed with the case rather than granting bail, signaling a pivotal phase in the legal proceedings against Kanu.

Ejimakor said that there was no doubt that the IPOB leader has a major health problem, as proven by a federal government-owned hospital.

Specifically, he claimed that a series of tests conducted on Kanu showed that he was suffering from hypertension and acute heart illness.

“Our humble submission is that the medical condition of the defendant speaks for itself and the health challenge persists, despite the treatment offered him by the detaining authority,” Ejimako added.

He maintained that Kanu’s continued detention by the Department of State Services, DSS, posed a threat to his life, adding that granting the defendant bail would enable him to effectively prepare his defence to the charges.

Besides, Ejimakor alleged that the seeming delay in the prosecution of the case was the fault of the government which he said had repeatedly amended the charges.

On the court’s observation that Kanu once jumped bail, Ejimakor argued that the development had become academic in view of findings and judgements of various courts on the issue.

On its part, FG’s lawyer, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, opposed the bail application, insisting that there was no guarantee that Kanu would make himself available for trial, once released from detention.

Awomolo, SAN, told the court that the security agency had been diligent in protecting Kanu’s life.

He urged the court to reject the bail request and order accelerated hearing of the case.

According to the prosecution counsel, Section 161 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, stipulated that the defendant must prove that the authorities failed to grant him access to quality healthcare at his detention center.

The senior lawyer further contended that there was nothing tangible that was brought before the court to establish an exceptional circumstance that would warrant Kanu’s release on bail.

He said the court had earlier revoked the defendant’s bail after he violated the conditions attached to it.

“There is no evidence before the court that Kanu will not jump bail again,” Awomolo insisted.

The IPOB leader who was first arrested by security agents in Lagos on October 14, 2015, has been in detention since June 29, 2021.

Justice Nyako had on April 25, 2017, granted him bail on health grounds, after he had spent about 18 months in detention.

Upon the perfection of the bail conditions, he was on April 28, 2017, released from the Kuje prison.

However, midway into the trial, the IPOB leader escaped from the country after soldiers invaded his country home at Afara Ukwu Ibeku in Umuahia, Abia State, an operation that led to the death of some of his followers.

Kanu was later re-arrested in Kenya on June 19, 2021 and extraordinarily sent back to the country by security agents on June 27, 2021.

Following the development, the trial court, on June 29, 2021, remanded him in custody of the Department of State Services, DSS, where he remained till date.

On April 8, 2022, the court struck out eight out of the 15-count charges that FG preferred against him on the premise that they lacked substance.

Likewise, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, on October 13, 2022, ordered Kanu’s immediate release from detention even as it quashed the charge against him.

The appellate court said it was satisfied that FG flagrantly violated all known laws, when it forcefully returned Kanu from Kenya to the country for the continuation of his trial.

It held that such arbitrary use of power by the Nigerian government, divested the trial court of the jurisdiction to further try the Appellant.

Dissatisfied with the decision, FG took the matter before the Supreme Court, even as it persuaded the appellate court to suspend the execution of the judgement, pending the determination of its appeal.

While deciding the appeal, the Supreme Court, on December 15, 2023, vacated the judgement of the appellate court and gave FG the nod to try the IPOB leader on the subsisting seven-count charge.

Justice Nyako had earlier expressed her displeasure over how the trial had been conducted since 2015.

“This is exactly the way this case has been going since 2015. I am talking to both sides. You always find a way to truncate the proceedings,” the judge fumed.