Court grants Nnamdi Kanu bail (UPDATE)
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday granted bail to the leader of
Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, on health grounds.
Justice Nyako however barred the IPOB leader from granting press
interview while on bail.
The judge also gave a stern warning to the defendant not to participate
in any rally or be found in a crowd of more than 10 persons in the
course of the bail.
She however refused the separate bail applications filed by the the IPOB
leader?s co-defendants.
The accused persons charged along with Kanu and who were denied bail by
the judge were the National Coordinator of IPOB, Mr. Chidiebere
Onwudiwe; an IPOB member, Benjamin Madubugwu, and a former Field
Maintenance Engineer seconded to the MTN, David Nwawuisi.
The court also in a separate ruling rejected the application by Kanu and
two of the co-defendants seeking the setting aside of the court?s
earlier order granting protection to prosecution witnesses to enable
them to testify behind a screen or in mask as well as using pseudonyms
to refer to them during proceedings.
Kanu who had been in detention since 2015 was granted bail on Tuesday
following the application filed by his lawyer after part of the charges
filed against them were struck out by the court.
Justice Nyako noted that she had observed that Kanu was always having to
sit down in the dock whenever he appeared in court, a development which
she said could be an indication that he could be suffering from an
ailment that could not be treated in prison.
She therefore granted bail in the sum of N100m with three sureties in
like sum.
The judge ordered that one of the sureties to be provided by the
defendant must be a highly placed person such as a senator.
She directed that the other must be a highly recognised leader in the
religion being practised by Kanu.
When asked by the judge in the course of reading the ruling, Kanu said
he was practising Judaism.
The third surety, according to the judge, must be a resident of Abuja
and who must have a landed property in the Federal Capital Territory.
The court fixed July 11 and 12 for commencement of trial.
Meanwhile, Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State was at the Federal
High Court in Abuja to solidarise with Kanu on Tuesday.
Fayose was already seated in the courtroom for over 30 minutes before
Kanu and his co-accused were produced in court by prison officials at
about 10.05am on Tuesday.=The Authority
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