Court refuses Nnamdi Kanu, others bail

..Orders accelerated hearing

The federal high court sitting in Abuja, Thursday, refused the leader of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, and three other defendants facing trial in respect of the activities of IPOB bail.

Instead of bail, the new trial judge, Justice Binta Nyako, ordered an accelerated hearing of the charges within two months. Justice Nyako was assigned to Court refuses Nnamdi Kanu, others bail hear the matter afresh last month after Justice John Tsoho disqualified himself.

Two other justices, Adeniyi Ademola and Ramat Mohammed, had earlier excused themselves from the matter. Ruling on the bail applications separately filed by the defendants: Nnamdi Kanu, Chidiebere Onwudiwe, Benhamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi, Justice Nyako held that the offences on which they were charged with are “serious in nature” and attract “life sentence.”

She also ruled that the previous bail granted the defendants was of no moment because the trial is starting (de-novo) afresh. Justice Nyako said that after a thorough review of submissions and arguments of the defendant’s counsel and the prosecution counsel, “all agreed that bail is granted at the discretion of the court.”

“Most important issue that agitated my mind was whether the offences with which the defendants were charged are bailable.” “I look at the charges, there are treasonable felony and terrorism, even though some are bailable.

Despite the arguments of the defence counsel, some of the offences are not bailable as they carry as much as life sentence.” “The offences are serious in nature. I hereby refused the bail and ordered an accelerated hearing.”

Earlier in the ruling while reviewing the submissions of the counsel, Justice Nyako had answered the question raised by the defence on the remark made by President Muhammadu Buhari at a media chat in February to the effect that Kanu should not be granted bail.

The defence counsel had expressed fear and asked whether the court can grant bail in view of the remark. Justice Nyako said that the remark has no bearing in the determination of the bail application as the matter before the court was based on facts and law. “Buhari can have opinion on anything but the issues before the court are based on facts and laws,” she ruled.