Chairman of the Anaocha branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Chris Adimora has condemned the decision of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to deny the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu bail.
Speaking with journalists in Onitsha, Anambra state, Adimora said the embattled leader of IPOB had committed no offence against any known
Nigerian law to have warranted his continued detention in prison custody and bail denial by the court.
Adimora said, “The reasons adduced by the prosecution for refusing Kanu bail is not tenable. He did not commit any offence by having dual citizenship. He can’t be refused bail because his charges are still mere allegation which are not yet proven”.
“As far as I know, he continued, Kanu did not commit any offence. They were just fishing for evidence to keep him in jail until they came up with this trump up charge of treasonable felony”.
“That he opened a radio station in a British air wave is not an offence in Nigeria. That he called President Muhammadu Buhari names does not amount to treasonable felon but mere agitation. He is only expressing and speaking the minds of millions of marginalized Biafrans and that does not amount to treasonable felony as the court states”.
“I hope they will be gentlemanly enough to produce evidence against him during the trial. The state is not sincere with its citizens or else why did they not bring up all his charges at the initial stage. This treasonable felony charge was brought up on a second thought, after they fail to prove the initial terrorism charge against him, which led to court granting him bail”.
Adimora also stated that the court denied Kanu bail based on the same reason adduced by Buhari during his media chat that the embattled IPOB leader has dual citizens.
“We were not surprised that the court eventually came up with the same issue as one of the reasons that led to his bail denial. They are just looking for a charge against him. They used coercive power of state to intimidate him”.
“If James Ibori could be convicted in far away London and thrown into jail because of the offence he committed in Nigeria, courtesy of the extradition treaty existing between Nigeria and Britain, why can’t Britain extradite Kanu or even try him in Britain if he is granted bail in Nigeria and he jumps it and escaped to Britain”, he said.
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