No bail for Kanu as court strikes out FG’s amended charge

A Federal High Court, Abuja, presided by Justice Binta Nyako, on Wednesday, refused to admit the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, to bail.

Justice Nyako ruled that since Kanu was earlier granted bail in 2017 and jumped the bail, the court must first determine the real reason he jumped the bail before applying for another one.

Consequently, she struck out the charge.

Also, Justice Nyako struck out an amended six-count treasonable felony charge the Federal Government brought against Kanu, after it was withdrawn by the Prosecution counsel, Mr. K. E. Kaswe.

Kaswe, from the Federal Ministry of Justice, withdrew the charge after Kanu’s team of lawyers led by Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, accused the FG of deliberately frustrating the speedy determination of the case.

Ozekhome told the court that the amended charge was served on him, barely 48 hours to the court proceeding, adding that the government introduced fresh issues in the amended charge, including additional documents and proof of evidence that was not originally attached to the case.

READ: JUST IN: Court frees Nnamdi Kanu on eight counts of 15 charges

“My lord, in one of the attachments, pictures of lawyers waiting to have a meeting with the defendant at the DSS facility, were snapped with secret camera and displayed.

“Names of his lawyers – Ifeanyi Ejiofor and Maxwell Opara – were also mentioned. They have brought new issues and even changed the wordings of the charge. The fact that the court sustained only seven counts in the previous charge and they have now reduced it to six counts, means that the charge has already been altered,” Ozekhome submitted.

He, therefore, said it was wrong for the Prosecution to insist on proceeding with trial, without first rearraigning the defendant.

Owing to Ozekhome’s contention, FG’s lawyer, Kaswe, applied to withdraw the amended charge to enable the matter to proceed on trial.