Nnamdi Kanu Kicks As Court Rejects Bail Application
- Claims deteriorating health condition
BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – Detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu on Wednesday kicked against the Federal High Court’s denial of his bail application, claiming that his health condition is deteriorating daily in custody.
Kanu is also insisting that the Department of State Services (DSS) lacks the necessary medical facility to meet his health needs, being kept in solitary confinement and daily exposed to mental torture.
Speaking through his counsels, Kanu argued that having not been tried or convicted by any court of law in the country, he was entitled to bail, and further alleged that “a highly poisonous substance” injected into his system has continuously caused him to have ‘constipation and increased heartbeat.’
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, in declining to grant him bail pending the determination of the treasonable felony charge instituted by the Federal Government, held that he must explain the reason behind his breaching the previous bail given to him in order to enjoy another favourable discretion from the court.
According to the trial judge, Justice Binta Nyako; “Until the issue of absence of the defendant for his trial, with all the bail conditions breached, is determined, the instant application of the defendant for bail will at best be premature and it is refused.”
However, Justice Nyako held that the defendant is at liberty to refile the application”, noting however that the trial had since 2015, suffered various setbacks owing to over 19 interlocutory applications that have been filed in the matter.
The Court, therefore, urged the parties to allow the case to proceed to enable the charge to be determined, one way or the other.
In the application filed pursuant to sections 6(6) and 36(5) and (6) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as sections 161, 162, 163, and 165 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015, the IPOB Leader had prayed the court to release him on bail, pending by determination of the charge against him.
He equally prayed the court to order the DSS to produce his medical report, claiming before the court that he was severely tortured for eight days in Kenya before being repatriated to Nigeria for the continuation of his trial.
Also maintaining that he has “credible and reliable sureties”, Kanu pledged not to commit any offence while on bail and further drew the attention of the court to the fact that he was previously released on bail on health grounds.
But in its submission before the court, the Federal Government opposed the bail application, arguing that the defendant, having realized the gravity of his offence, would run away from the country again and refuse to make himself available for trial.
