Nnamdi Kanu, the besieged leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has submitted a new bail application pending the outcome of the Federal Government’s treasonable felony case against him.
Mr. Alloy Ejimakor, Kanu’s lawyer, drew the attention of trial Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja to the February 5 request for bail.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has appointed Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, to handle the case’s prosecution.
Awomolo, SAN, informed the court that he had received Kanu’s second bail request.
The IPOB leader was seized by security officers in Lagos on October 14, 2015, and has been detained since June 29, 2021.
On April 25, 2017, Trial Justice Binta Nyako granted him bail on health grounds after almost 18 months in detention.
On April 28, 2017, he was released from the Kuje prison after fulfilling his bail conditions.
However, midway through the trial, the IPOB leader fled the nation after military raided his country residence in Afara Ukwu Ibeku in Umuahia, Abia State, killing some of his followers.
Kanu was later re-arrested in Kenya on June 19, 2021, and returned to the country by security authorities on June 27, 2021.
Following the development, on June 29, 2021, the trial court remanded him in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), where he has stayed to this day.
However, on April 8, 2022, Justice Nyako dismissed eight of the 15-count indictment that FG had filed against him, citing a lack of substance.
Similarly, on October 13, 2022, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal ordered Kanu’s immediate release from detention while dismissing the accusation against him.
The court said it was satisfied that the FG flagrantly violated all known laws when it forcibly returned Kanu from Kenya to the country to continue his trial.
It concluded that the Nigerian government’s arbitrary use of authority deprives the trial court of jurisdiction to try the Appellant further.
Dissatisfied with the decision, FG petitioned the Supreme Court while persuading the appellate court to stay the execution of the judgment until the outcome of its appeal.
On December 15, 2023, the Supreme Court vacated the appellate court’s decision and allowed FG to proceed with the trial.