The Nation Newspaper

Tag: IPOB leader

  • Court orders IPOB leader Kanu’s arrest

    Federal High Court in Abuja has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu.

    The court gave the order because the IPOB leader has failed to attend court since April 25, 2017, without any reasonable explanation.

    In a ruling yesterday, Justice Binta Nyako, also directed that his trial on charges of treasonable felony should proceed in his absence.

    Relying on the provision of Section 352(4) of the Administrative of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, Justice Nyako agreed with the prosecution, led by Magaji Labaran, that Kanu has consistently failed to appear in court since April 25, 2017, without any reasonable explanation.

    The judge, who rejected the objection by Kanu’s lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor to Labaran’s oral application for the IPOB leader’s arrest, noted that she had, in an earlier judgment on a civil suit filed by Kanu, held that there was no nexus between the reported military invasion of Kanu’s community and his disappearance.

    Justice Nyako noted that Kanu has violated the conditions and terms of the bail granted him.

    She recalled that after the defendant was granted bail on April 17, 2017, the following proceedings of July 11, 2017 could not hold due the court’s vacation.

    The judge further noted that on October 17, 2017, Kanu also failed to appear in court with his lawyer saying that the defendant absence from court was caused by the invasion of his home in Abia State by soldiers.

    According to her, the three persons who guaranteed his bail, have applied to the court to withdraw their suretyship, because they could not account for his whereabouts.

    Justice Nyako observed that on March 28, last year, 2018, Kanu’s trial was separated from that of his four other co-defendants in order to avoid delays of the other persons’ trial.

    Read also: Cleric hails Kanu for calling off boycott

    The judge recalled that, on November 14, last year, she ordered that the sureties should temporarily forfeit their N100 million bail bonds or produce Kanu in court.

    She added that since when Kanu’s trial was separated from that of others, there were four court sessions that held and were adjourned without Kanu attending any.

    The judge stressed that proceedings must end one way or the other, adding: “I have given the counsel for the defendant more than enough time to produce him in court.

    “Therefore, by virtue of section of section 252(4) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, the only option open to do is to order that the trial will continue in his absence.

    “Also in the absence of any reasonable explanation for his absence, I hereby revoke his bail and order that a bench warrant be issued for his arrest.”

    The judge fixed June 18 for the commencement of  trial with or without Kanu in court.

    Justice Nyako, however, adjourned indefinitely, the proceedings in relation to Kanu’s sureties, who have applied to withdraw their suretyship.

    The judge ordered the indefinite adjournment after lawyer to one of the sureties, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume (SAN), informed the court that his client has appealed the November 14, 2018 ruling ordering the sureties to forfeit their bail bonds.

     

     

  • Nnamdi Kanu’s family to Buratai: You told court cheap lies

    Nnamdi Kanu’s family to Buratai: You told court cheap lies

    The family of leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu has berated the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai over what it said was the cheap, blatant and childish lies the army boss told an Abuja Court Friday in respect of the invasion of their house by soldiers at Afara Ukwu, Umuahia, Abia State.

    Gen Bruatai had in a counter-affidavit he filed in reaction to a suit in Kanu’s name before the Federal High Court, Abuja instituted by his lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor said soldiers chased a truck laden with weapons into a house said to belong to the leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu’s father in Afara Ukwu.

    Speaking on behalf of the IPOB leader’s family, his younger brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu said it was unfortunate the Chief of Army Staff could condescend so low to tell such cheap, childish and unbridled lies.

    “What is General Buratai talking about? The question I am asking is why should Justice Binta Nyako listen to such lies? If she fails to jail Bruatai, that means the judicial system in this country should not be trusted for any reason, he should be jailed for telling such cheap and childish lies, this is shameful, not when we have evidences.

    Prince Kanu said by denying the military did not invade their house not once but twice, Buratai was disputing what the Minister of Defence, Mansur Mohammed Dan Ali said that he actually authorized that invasion.

    “If the Minister of Defence said in a Television programme that he authorised the invasion, how could Buratai come out to say something different? If after the invasion on September 14 and on September 16 there was a press state by Abia State commissioner of police admitting they recovered some ammunitions from our house why then is the COAS on November 16 is denying they never invaded the house. If there was no invasion of the house, how come that the whole place was riddled with bullets? How come that people were killed including our dog and the Eagle bird we kept in the house?”

    Kanu going further said “All of them are confused, they don’t even know what they are saying, there is even no sense of direction since the Minister of Defence will say something different and the Chief of Army Staff will also say something different, they should coordinate their lies.

    “The truth remains that soldiers invaded our home without any course and they took so many people away including Nnamdi Kanu; either they’ve killed him or still keeping him somewhere. So, how come they are lying; are they lying against the local media or the international media which have visited the house and found out there was an invasion? So, who is deceiving who here? From the look of things everyone now knows that Nnamdi Kanu was either killed or taken away by the military.”

    The IPOB leader’s younger brother said if the army had traced someone who had truck load of ammunition to their house, that the COAS should tell the world who the person was, when it happened and the evidence to show that they traced someone with dangerous weapons to their house.

    “If the truck laden with the so called dangerous weapons was blown up by the driver as claimed by Bruatai, where is the charred body of the lorry or the ashes? The bottom line of everything is that there was no truck laden with weapons that was found near our house; the army invaded our house without any just course and as a matter of fact, Buratai knows where Nnamdi Kanu is and he should produce him.”

    To further buttress his point that there house was invaded by soldiers, Kanu alleged that during the invasion, “they (soldiers) took away our personal belongings, generator sets, food items, shot the eagle bird in our house, the dog and took away boxes containing our mother’s clothing and vandalized vehicles in our compound after riddling it with bullets.”

    He appealed on the international community to prevail on Buratai to order his men to return their personal belongings particularly his mother’s boxes they took away on September 16 or they will face the wrath of Briafra land.

  • Quit Notice: Al-Mustapha, MASSOB leader storm Kaduna to broker peace

    Quit Notice: Al-Mustapha, MASSOB leader storm Kaduna to broker peace

    Former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and the leader of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) Chief Ralph Nwazuruike ‎ on Monday stormed Kaduna state to broker peace over the quit notice issued the Igbos to leave the northern region tagged ‘Kaduna Declaration’.

    The meeting which was organized at the instance of Major Al-Mustapha was apparently to intervene into the trending impasse threatening the unity and oneness of the country particularly with the recent quit notice on Igbos resident in the north by coalition of northern youths organizations.

    According to Major Al-Mustapha‎, the youths need to wear their thinking caps and use their brains and refused being used to ferment any form of crisis that could affect the unity of the country.

    He said that the development in Nigeria that is causing tension is not surprising, because same may have been sponsored by countries that envy Nigeria.

    He explained that in achieving their aims, they could even go as far as sponsoring stooges to leadership positions in the country, or backing rebels to stop countries with huge potentials from reaching their peak.

    Al-Mustapha while cautioning the youth from the North, from making statements that would further cause tension in the country, said that they youths actions may be borne out of frustration as a result of unpleasant comments coming from the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

    “We are appealing that our younger ones whom have been declared wanted should be set free, and the order of arrest should be rescinted ‎because it is not the solution.

    ‎Speaking also, MASSOB leader, Chief Nwazurike averred that the crisis in Nigeria is being manipulated and caused by politicians, stressing that “the youth must not allow that, the country must continue to exist as one nation but issues of marginalization can be disscussed.

    Nwazurike explained that when he founded MASSOB in 1999, it was purely meant to be a peaceful platform through which issues of perceived marginalisation of the Igbo’s in Nigeria could be discussed and tackled.

    He explained that even though it was right for any part of the country to seek self-determination, it was wrong to pursue same through violent means.

    “I handed over Radio Biafra which I created to Nnamdi KANU in London as the managing director and was hoping it would serve the purpose for which it was created, but was disappointed that politicians hijacked it and it became something else,” he said.

    Speaking further, the MASSOB leader assured the Northerners in all the Eastern part of the country of their safety, while thanking Major Hamza Almustapha (rtd) for assuring same for the Igbo’s in the North.

    “I want to assure northerners that your people in the South east are safe and nobody will harass them and am ‎happy that my friend Al-Mustapha has also given same assurance of the safety of our people in the north.

    “Self-determination without violence is a fundamental right, we must strive against sowing the seed of discord ‎but do all that will promoted peace and justice.

    “There is a gap of communication from our leaders which needs to be bridged hence we are meeting with notable leaders in the north to persuade them that there is no cause for alarm” he reiterated.

     

  • Ekwueme receives IPOB leader, assures him fatherly support

    Ekwueme receives IPOB leader, assures him fatherly support

    Former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme Wednesday, gave assurance of his fatherly support to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi NnamdiKanu.

    Ekwueme, who made the pledge when the IPOB leader visited him at his Enugu residence, assured that he would always give the IPOB leader the needed counsel.

    Kanu had told Ekwueme that “I have come to tell you that we find you invaluable in our advancement of our people and in our cause also to make life better for the public and for the masses.

    “So, I am humbled and delighted to be here and also to bring you up to speed as to what we have been doing, what motivated me; what motivated the IPOB to do what we have been doing.

    “It is more or less today an expression, a political expression to the yearnings and aspirations of the society; that’s what we are trying to do.

    “The sum total of the struggle by the IPOB, which I’m leading is to ensure that there is dignity of life.

    “And for us to fulfill that very mandate, we must be diligent, we must be focused, we must be sincere.

    “So, I have come here to brief my father as to why we‎ do what we do and to get his blessings; anything he tells me is what we are going to do, in so far as it advances our political course as a people.”

    Ekwueme said it was a pleasure receiving the IPOB leader after all his travails, stressing: “I thank God that he is free and able to move around.”

    “I will make my best counsel available to him in his very onerous task of leading an organization that is committed to bringing justice and equity among people, especially for our people”, he added.

     

  • IPOB leader Kanu files fresh bail application

    IPOB leader Kanu files fresh bail application

    Detained Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) leader and Radio Biafra Director Nnamdi Kanu has filed a fresh bail application.

    Kanu, who was arrested last October by the Department of State Service (DSS), was charged with two others, Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi, with treasonable felony for allegedly plotting the secession of the Republic of Biafra from Nigeria and managing an illegal organisation.

    Kanu’s fresh bail application, now pending before Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, was served last week on the Federal Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

    Kanu stalled their arraignment last year when he told Justice Ahmed Mohammed that he doubted his ability to ensure justice in the case.

    Justice Mohammed withdrew and remitted the case file back to the court’s Chief Judge for re-assignment to another judge. The case is yet to be re-assigned.