- Gets November 10 date in court
- No bail, to remain in DSS’ custody
Detained Leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB), Nnamdi Kanu, has pleaded not guilty to the seven counts charge filed against him by the Federal Government at a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
This is as Justice Binta Nyako rejected the defence counsel’s plea that his client be transferred to Nigerian Correctional Service Centre (NCSC) in Kuje.
The IPoB leader had filed an application before the Court seeking to be transferred from the custody of the Department of State Service (DSS), to the Kuje Correctional Centre.
Kanu is also challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter on the grounds that the alleged offences were committed in the United Kingdom and not in Nigeria.
His lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, made the disclosure shortly after his re-arraignment before Justice Binta Nyako on Thursday, October 21, 2021.
The court has therefore fixed November 10 for hearing the application of Kanu, challenging the competency of the charge preferred against him by the Federal Government
Kanu was in June re-arrested in Kenya and extradited to the country to face trial. His first arrest took place in a Lagos Hotel in 2015 by operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS) and he was thereafter arraigned alongside four others in 2016.
During Thursday’s re-arraignment, Kanu, adorning a white Fendi designers clothe, was ushered into the courtroom at exactly 10am by security operatives and took fresh plea to the amended charge at about 10:45am.
Kanu, who arrived the Federal High Court premises in Abuja at about 8am amidst tight security, was conveyed in a black Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).
Like in the earlier charge brought against him, Kanu again pleaded not guilty to the fresh charge even as his lawyer battle that he be transferred to Kuje prison instead of being kept with the Nigerian secret police, the DSS.
But in declining to grant the request, the Court said it would be in the interest of Kanu and the State for him to remain with the DSS.
The court had, in the course of this year, ordered that the IPOB leader be kept in DSS’ custody, pending his arraignment and commencement of trial.
Justice Nyako therefore adjourned the case to November 10 for hearing of Kanu’s application challenging the jurisdiction of the court to try him as well as the competence of the charge.
Issues raised by the defence counsel’s notice of preliminary objection include the fact that the prosecution did not in any way link the defendant to the charges brought against him.
According to him, the alleged offences were also said to be committed in the United Kingdom among others.
In its reaction to the ongoing court case, Igbo apex socio-political organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has accused the Federal Government of conducting a secret trial of Nnamdi Kanu.
The body condemned the trial in its entirety because its members were barred from attending the proceedings in court.
