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Tag: Kanu

  • AMCON: we’re in court with Kanu over debt

    The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) yesterday said it has exhausted all avenues of peaceful resolution on the debt allegedly owed the corporation by the promoter of The Hardley Apartments and former captain of the Nigeria Super Eagles, Nwankwo Kanu.

    Inastatement released yesterday, AMCON said it had in 2015, obtained an order from the Federal High Court, which gave the corporation permission to take possession of The Hardley Apartments located at No. 46 Waziri Ibrahim Crescent, Off Elsie Femi – Pearse Crescent, Off Adeola Odeku Street, Victoria Island in Lagos State. This order still subsists, pending the determination of the substantive matter

    It said: “AMCON is not in the habit of joining issues with obligors on the pages of the newspapers especially when the matter is in court as in this one. However, as a law abiding recovery agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria, we are at all times guided within the confines of the law and would continue to act accordingly”.

    The corporation said reports on the debt are  brazen falsehood meant to mislead the public on the true position of the  debt to the corporation”.

    “We also want to put on record that having exhausted all avenues of peaceful resolution as a result of the huge debt, AMCON in 2015 obtained an order from the Federal High Court, which gave the Corporation permission to take possession of The Hardley Apartments located at No. 46 Waziri Ibrahim Crescent, Off Elsie Femi – Pearse Crescent, Off Adeola Odeku Street, Victoria Island in Lagos State. This order still subsists, pending the determination of the substantive matter”.

    The public should therefore please disregard these misrepresentations as we await the pronouncement of the court on the matter.

  • Will Kanu reappear?

    With the Federal High Court in Abuja scheduled to decide on December 13 whether the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Tukur Buratai, should be asked to account for the whereabouts of separatist Nnamdi Kanu, the drama of disappearance is not about to end.

    Since Kanu disappeared while on bail, his sureties have been asked to account for his whereabouts, but they seem not to know. The controversial leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) was granted bail by a Federal High Court on April 25, after many sympathetic voices had called for his release from prolonged detention for separatist activities.  Kanu is facing trial for “alleged offences of conspiracy to commit acts of treasonable felony and other related offences.”

    Kanu’s lawyers argue that Buratai should be made to produce him because he allegedly disappeared during an operation by soldiers, which they described as “a murderous raid, where live and mortar bullets were fired on unarmed and defenceless people, leaving 28 persons dead.”  They said in their motion: “The invading soldiers who had direct contact with the applicant on this fateful day (September 14, 2017) should be in a position to produce the applicant before the court. It is either the respondent’s rampaging soldiers abducted the applicant during this raid or killed him in the process.”

    It is unclear whether this is an opportunistic claim, following “Operation Python Dance,” a military exercise in the Southeast during which “rampaging soldiers” allegedly invaded Kanu’s house in Afara-Ukwu Ibeku, Umuahia, Abia State.

    After Kanu’s mysterious disappearance, a former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, supplied information about his whereabouts: “Kanu was not taken away by the military. Kanu went to Malaysia from where he travelled to the United Kingdom. Nnamdi Kanu is in London right now as we speak. He was not arrested by anybody. He left the country on his own. One of his relations has spoken to me and explained everything because I wanted to see him and talk to him wherever he was and see how I could meet some Federal Government officials on his issue. I also wanted to see ways of talking to the President about him, and find common ground but his family told me that he has left the country, unless they are lying to me. I believe, whether he had left the country or not, he is not with the military because I asked the Commander of the 14 Brigade, Brig.-Gen. A.K Ibrahim, who is a very fine and good soldier, well educated and dedicated, and he told me that they don’t know his whereabouts and I am sure, the Department of State Services have the same information. I also visited the commissioner of police and he said he didn’t know his whereabouts and that they are also looking for him.” This information was rubbished by Kanu’s group and his lawyers.

    This was followed by news of an announcement that “Mazi Nnamdi Nwanekaenyi Kanu, the former Director of Radio Biafra is hereby dismissed and removed as Director of Radio Biafra following extensive and intensive consultations.” The announcer named one “Mazi Ezenwachukwu Sampson Okwudili as Kanu’s replacement.” Kanu was accused of: “Personalisation of the Biafran struggle and derailing from the core objectives of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as a grassroots movement.”

    There were other accusations against Kanu: “Kanu’s actions and his decisions to incite members of IPOB towards violence leading to the death of many innocent young people in Onitsha, Aba and Umuahia are totally unacceptable and grossly irresponsible. Kanu privately collected £14 million and another $22 million to purchase landed properties abroad in his name and that of his father, Igwe Israel Kanu, in a clear case of ‘monkey dey work baboon dey chop.’ He was also accused of failing to “drum up support for the release of his colleagues and co-detainees such as Chidiebere Onwudiwe, Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi.”

    IPOB rubbished the reported announcement in a statement by its media and publicity secretary, Emma Powerful: “For anyone to believe that faceless hitherto unheard of individuals can wake up one evening and announce the replacement of a man that commands 50 million people with presence in over 100 countries of the world, making him only second to Pope Francis as the personality with the largest cult following on earth, is plain stupid.” This characterisation of Kanu is striking for its hyperbolism.  Who is expected to believe this picture of Kanu’s alleged global stature?

    The proscribed group then dropped a bombshell: “We have all become accustomed to the crude antics of this shameless Nigerian Government and her security agencies that are so desperate to create confusion and pandemonium within the hierarchy of IPOB. That they came up with this ludicrous propaganda of the replacement of the irreplaceable IPOB leader is confirmation of their desperation.” Could it be true that the news was fabricated and planted by the federal government?

    The sequence of events has not answered the question about Kanu’s whereabouts because Kanu has not reappeared.  His disappearance needs to be demystified. It should not be a mystery. How long will this drama of disappearance last? Will Kanu resurface someday?  How will that happen? What will he have to say when he reappears?

    Before he disappeared, Kanu was characteristically rebellious when he addressed a crowd on August 27 at the Boys Technical College (BTC) on Faulks Road in Aba North Local Government Area of Abia State. According to a report, “He used the forum to reiterate that there would not be election in Anambra in November or any part of “Biafra Land” even in 2019, unless the group’s clamour for referendum got the blessings of government.”  He was quoted as saying: “I’m a Biafran and we are going to crumble the zoo. Some idiots who are not educated said that they’ll arrest me, and I ask them to come. I’m in Biafra land. If any of them leaves Biafra land alive, know that this is not IPOB.”

    Without him, days to the governorship election in Anambra State on November 18, IPOB was still flexing its muscles. Members of the separatist group marched around with a death threat in Onitsha, Anambra State, on November 3. They were quoted as saying: “If you vote you will die. Don’t go out, stay in your house. If you vote on November 18, you will die…There will be no election. We will not participate, we will not vote.”

    The Anambra State governorship election has been lost and won, and Kanu is still nowhere to be found. What will happen next?

  • Soldiers chased weapon-laden truck into Kanu’s home, says Buratai

    Soldiers chased weapon-laden truck into Kanu’s home, says Buratai

    •Court hears case on Kanu’s whereabouts

    Soldiers chased a truck laden with weapons into a house said to belong to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu’s father   in Afara-Ukwu Ibeku, Umuahia, Abia State, on September 14, Chief of Army Staff Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai has said.

    Gen. Buratai said owners of the truck detonated the explosives on the day Kanu was last seen in public.

    He said the suspects’ intention was to frustrate the move to arrest them by the troops

    Gen, Buratai stated these in a counter-affidavit he filed in reaction to a suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja in Kanu’s name by his lawyer Ifeanyi Ejiofor.

    The suit seeks, among others, an order to compel Gen. Buratai, listed as defendant, to produce the IPOB leader, who the plaintiff claimed was in the custody of the military.

    IPOB claimed, in the suit filed shortly after Kanu went missing, that the soldiers, who allegedly invaded his father’s house on September 14, took him away.

    But, in the counter-affidavit deposed to on his behalf by Col. A.A Yusuf, attached to the COAS’s office at the Army Headquarters, Abuja, Gen. Buratai denied the plaintiff’s claim. He said the soldiers had no contact with Kanu

    He said: during “a peaceful movement” which was part of the “Operation Python Dance II” on September 14, some soldiers saw a truck and flagged it down, but the truck and its occupants ran over Army’s barricade and defied soldiers’ order stopping them to be searched.

    He said the soldiers pursued the fleeing truck, loaded with arms and ammunition, into a compound.

    Buratai said the compound turned out to be the one Kanu later claimed, in the suit, to belong to him and his father.

    He said soldiers, who pursued the truck into Kanu’s father’s  house, did not fire any shot but that the occupants of the fleeing truck deliberately ignited the ammunition in the truck.

    “It was the legitimate attempt by the officers and men of the Nigerian Army to arrest the fleeing occupants of the truck and impound the truck that precipitated the deliberate igniting of the ammunition in the truck by persons now believed to be IPOB members.

    “The act of the IPOB members resulted in sporadic explosions within the said applicant’s compound.

    “The applicant (Kanu) is not and has neither being in our custody nor in the custody of any person, officer or institution receiving instruction directly or indirectly from him.

    “The applicant was not at any time whatsoever arrested, taken into custody or detained by the Officers and men of the Nigerian Army.

    “The officers and men of the Nigerian Army did not have any contact whatsoever or confrontation or any operational engagement with the applicant on September 12 or 14, 20l7 or any other date thereafter, contrary to the  allegations in the affidavit in support of the  application.

    “The allegation of invasion of the South-Eastern part of Nigeria by officers and men of the Nigerian Army, especially the applicant’s home and or residence is totally false,” the COAS said.

    He added that his men, acting in compliance with “approved Rules of Engagement and Code of Conduct which prohibit any form of human right abuses” did not kill scores of people during the military operation in the South East as alleged in the suit.

    “The allegations of firing of live bullets on the applicant’s relatives, killing of scores of persons, wounding and arrest of many, attack and invasion of applicant’s home, barricade at Isialangwa, arrest and torture of civilians by officers and me of the Nigerian Army, as stated by the deponent, are a figment of his imagination as same are not true,” he said.

    The case is expected to come up today for hearing before Justice Binta Nyako.

  • Pirate radio removes Kanu as boss

    Pirate radio removes Kanu as boss

    Pirate Radio has announced the sack of Nnamdi Kanu as its director.

    It all started on Sunday morning when again the radio hit the airwaves between 6am and 7am.

    But instead of the fiery rhetoric with which it was associated with, the radio announced Kanu’s sack.

    The Radio Biafra’s programme started with a lady announcer, who gave her name as Ifeoma Okorafor, stating that the radio was back on air.

    Then came the announcement that “Mazi Nnamdi Nwanekaenyi Kanu, the former Director of Radio Biafra is hereby dismissed and removed as Director of Radio Biafra following extensive and intensive consultations”.

    The announcer named one “Mazi Ezenwachukwu Sampson Okwudili as Kanu’s replacement”.

    The announcer reeled out reasons why Kanu was removed as including:

    “Personalisation of the Biafran struggle and derailing from the core objectives of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as a grassroots movement.

    “Kanu’s actions and his decisions to incite members of IPOB towards violence leading to the death of many innocent young people in Onitsha, Aba and Umuahia is totally unacceptable and grossly irresponsible.

    “Kanu privately collected £14 million and another $22 million to purchase landed properties abroad in his name and that of his father, Igwe Israel Kanu, in a clear case of ‘monkey dey work baboon dey chop’.

    “Kanu turned our collective struggle into a money-making enterprise for himself and his father. Thus the monies contributed by enterprising and hard-working Igbo youths across the world are being collected and converted by one man and his father while pretending to be sacrificing for the cause.”

    The announcer added: “Upon his release from detention in April 2017, one expected Kanu to drum up support for the release of his colleagues and co-detainees such as Chidiebere Onwudiwe, Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi. These are our brothers, who were arrested at the same time with him and they should not be forgotten. We hereby demand their release.

    “Kanu, since his release, has never spoken about them or appealed for the release of these our freedom fighters. Instead, he has been going about collecting chieftaincy titles and having a messianic swagger that even allowed full-blooded Igbo men to kneel down and kiss his feet.

  • Ikpeazu: it’s not my duty to produce Kanu

    Ikpeazu: it’s not my duty to produce Kanu

    Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu yesterday said it is not his responsibility to produce the leader of proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

    Ikpeazu addressed State House correspondents after meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

    The governor said it is the duty of those trained to track down suspects and give information about the whereabouts of the IPOB leader.

    He said though Kanu is his brother, the state government did not know his whereabouts.

    Ikpeazu said: “Those who are looking for him may have a better knowledge and have the capacity to determine the location of anyone in Nigeria. There are people who are trained to track down people. It is their responsibility, not mine.”

    The governor said the state was planning to set up a committee for Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSME) Council.

    Ikpeazu added that he was a critical stakeholder in the sector because Abia State reamined the SME hub of Nigeria.

    He said: “The patronage of made-in-Nigeria products in Abia is going up. Part of the direct fallout of our campaign since the past 24 months is that, today, some parts of Ariaria Market, where the shoe-making enterprise is flourishing, has enjoyed steady power supply for three weeks on a pilot scheme, courtesy of the agency in charge of rural power supply.

    “Beyond that, we are interfacing and having a better relationship with funding agencies. We were able to attract about N1.3 billion or N1.4 billion on direct sales from made-in-Aba shoes, dresses and all that.

    “Apart from that, the Made-in-Aba Fashion Show was held in Abuja and another one was held in New York, the United States of America (U.S.A), where they came face-to-face with world-class designers. We did not do badly at all.

    “The made-in-Nigeria campaign has assumed international dimension.”

    On efforts to encourage the local industries, the governor said having direct sales of N1.4 billion was not a joke.

    He said constant power supply for three weeks was not a mean feat.

    Ikpeazu noted that exposing local manufacturers to fairs in New York should not be seen as a child’s play.

    He said: “Confidence is returned. Everybody now places ‘Proudly Aba’, ‘Proudly Nigeria’ on their wares. If our youths are happy doing what they are doing, then we have started something.

    “We have been working on infrastructure steadily: roads, electricity and security. All of them are parts of enablers that will drive our vision, going forward.

  • Court orders Abaribe to produce Kanu

    Court orders Abaribe to produce Kanu

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe and two others, who stood surety for Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu to account for his whereabouts.

    Justice Binta Nyako gave the order at the resumed trial of Kanu and three others yesterday when his (Kanu’s) lawyer Ifeanyi Ejiofor could not explain why his client was absent in court and where he was.

    Also ordered to account for Kanu’s whereabouts are Tochukwu Uchendu (a businessman) and Jewish Chief High Priest Immanuel -El Shalom Oka-Ben Madu.

    The judge gave the order in a ruling she delivered after the prosecution demanded that Kanu’s sureties be make to produce him and the IPOB leader’s lawyer denied knowledge of his whereabouts.

    The judge said: “The sureties are to show cause why he is not in court and why I should not issue a bench warrant against him.

    “The second surety (Senator Abaribe) will only be recused or excused from the bail suretyship when the 1st defendant is produced or if he decides to forfeit his bail bond.”

    “The prison authorities are hereby directed to allow the medical doctor of the 4th defendant access to his prison records and treatment following laid down prison procedure. I will extend this to the 3rd defendant.

    READ ALSO: Police planted arms recovered from our home, says Nnamdi Kanu’s family

    “All pending applications pending before the court will be taken in the course of proceedings,” Justice Nyako said.

    Kanu and three other member of his group  are being tried on a five-count charge of treason related offences.

    The court, however granted only the IPOB leader bail on health grounds on April 25.

    Abaribe, Uchendu and Madu stood surety for him to guarantee his continued attendance of court until the trial is concluded, failing which they would forfeit the N100million bond they each signed or be committed to prison until Kanu is found.

    Others being tried are: Chidiebere Onwudiwe, Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi.

    When the proceedings began yesterday, prosecuting lawyer Shuaibu Labaran noted that Kanu was absent in court.

    Labaran contended that Kanu’s absence was a violation of the bail granted him and the order that he must attend court until the trial is concluded.

    He urged the court to revoke the bail, issue a bench warrant for Kanu’s arrest and invite his three sureties to produce him or forfeit the N100 million bond they each signed and/ or be committed to prison.

    When Labaran took his seat, Kanu’s lawyer attempted to blame his client’s absence on the military.

    He claimed that Kanu had planned to attend court, but that since some soldiers invaded his house on September 14 this year, he (Kanu) had not been seen.

    The judge interjected and asked Ejiofor to limit his submission to what was before the court, particularly as it relates to why his client was absent.

    Ejiofor said he did not know why his client was absent. He also said he had not seen him since the military invaded his home.

    Another lawyer, Obiechi Ogbonna, who represented Abaribe, said his client did not also know where Kanu was and had applied to withdraw as his surety.

    As he indicated his intention to argue the application he filed for Abaribe, the judge noted that it was not yet time for that, and the senator could not recuse himself as surety when Kanu had not been found.

    Justice Nyako told Ogbonna that his client had three options.

    The first option, the judge said, is for Abaribe to produce Kanu.

    Abaribe will remain a surety until Kanu is found. He can thereafter decline to be a surety, and the court returns Kanu to prison until he perfects the bail again.

    The second and third options, the judge said, are that Abaribe either forfeits his bail bond of N100 million or appeals to the court for time to search for and produce Kanu.

    Ogbonna chose the third option and urged the court to allow his client time to produce the IPOB leader.

    The second defendant’s lawyer, Efa Ika, told the court that he was new in the case and was familiarising himself with the history of the trial.

    Mr. Adoga, who appeared for the third defendant said he had filed five applications for his client, seeking several prayers, including the transfer of the case to Owerri; an order quashing the charge, an order granting him bail and an order allowing him to stand trial alone on a separate charge.

    Maxwell Opara, who represented the fourth defendant, said he had two applications pending before the court, one seeking to compel prison authorities to allow his client access to his personal physician, and the other, that his client be granted bail.

    Upon agreement by lawyers in the case, the judge adjourned till November 20 for Kanu’s sureties to explain where he is and why he did not attend court.

     

  • IPOB: ‘Kanu must be declared a terrorist’

    IPOB: ‘Kanu must be declared a terrorist’

    The Embassy of the United States of America (U.S.A) in Nigeria and its spokesman Russel Brooks have been dragged before a Federal High court sitting in Abuja over the comments and the stand of the US government on the Indigenous People of Biafra, when it was proscribed by the Nigerian Government last month.

    The Federal Government last month secured an ordered of the court proscribing IPOB as a terrorist organisation.

    But the U.S. Embassy, through its spokesman said IPOB is not a terrorist organisation under US laws.

    In the suit, dated and filed 11th October,2017, the plaintiff, Nze Charles Ugwu, through his lawyer, Simon Kanshio, Esq. UGWU claimed that Nigerian laws are not inferior to laws of other countries and that the statement by the US Spokesman was to undermine the sovereignty of the Nigerian state which is anchored on its constitution.

    He wants the court to compel the spokesman to withdraw his statement and declare the embassy as a promoter of terrorists’ activities in line with the Terrorism Act.

    But the plaintiff asked the court to determine the following terms

    “Whether by a true interpretation of sections 1, 4 and 5 of the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act, 2013 and the United Nations Convention on Terrorism the 1st Defendant’s statement endorsing the proscribed terrorist group named Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) does not amount to promoting terrorism in Nigeria?

    “Whether the United States of America represented in Nigeria through the second Defendant is no longer obligated to be bound by the United Nation Convention on Terrorism which the United States of America signed and ratified?

    “Whether the third Defendant as the Chief Law Officer of the Federation is not duty bound under the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act, 2013 to advise President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR to declare the 1st Defendant a persona non grata for supporting the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) a proscribed terrorist group, thereby promoting terrorism in Nigeria?

    He also prayed the court for the following reliefs:

    “A declaration that by true interpretation of Sections 1, 4 and 5 of the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act, 2013 and the United Nations Convention on Terrorism the statement of the 1st Defendant from the office of the 2nd Defendant endorsing the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), an organization proscribed and labelled as a terrorist group by a Nigerian court presided over by Honourable Justice Abdul Adamu Kafarati on 19th September, 2017 is tantamount to supporting and inciting terrorism and violence in Nigeria.

    “A declaration that the 1st and 2nd Defendants representing the United States of America in Nigeria are under absolute obligation to obey Nigerian laws both statutory and judicial so far as they are within the territory of Nigeria irrespective of their personal opinions, perceptions or ideologies.

    “An order compelling the 1st and 2nd Defendants to withdraw their endorsement of the terrorist group named Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) within Seven (7) days of delivery of judgment in this case.

    “An order directing the first defendant to apologise to the Federal Government of Nigeria in 10 national dailies upon delivery of judgment in this case as his statement endorsing the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), despite the judgment of the court proscribing them as a terrorist group, is an affront to the Judiciary with the attendant effect of undermining the sovereignty of the Nigerian State.

    “The plaintiff, an indigene of Enugu State but resident in Kano State, in an affidavit in support of the suit said Kanu and his fellow members of IPOB went about his so called freedom agitation in a violent manner which has led to killing of hundreds of persons and destruction of properties worth billions of naira within the last two years, thus necessitating the arrest of Kanu and some of his men.

  • Kanu’s family faults Abia CP’s claims over arms recovery

    Kanu’s family faults Abia CP’s claims over arms recovery

    Family of leader of proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu has faulted claims by Abia State Commissioner of Police, Anthony Michael Ogbizi that police recovered lethal weapons when they raided their compound at Afara Ukwu on October 8 together with soldiers from 14Brigade, Ohafia.

    Abia new commissioner of police had claimed during a press briefing in Umuahia on Thursday that lethal weapons including petrol bombs and one double-barrel gun were recovered during the raid.

    Kanu’s family spokesman Prince Emmanuel Kanu in a telephone chat with journalists however denied that the family had any gun in the house, adding that if actually there was any gun the police found, it was planted by them during the first raid.

    “This new CP was the same man who came to our house two days after the September 14 invasion with two Hilux vans and his Prado SUV and pulled down the car porch and destroyed the vehicles parked outside.

    “This same CP hurriedly after the invasion on the October 8, issued a press release telling the whole world that they discovered bombs in my house. The army on the other hand, denied that there was no invasion and that they never went to my house, what a contradiction.

    “A house that there has not been any person inside except our guard who we asked to look after the house, all of a sudden they invaded the house and came back to say they found a den gun, double barrel gun and petrol bomb. Who manufactured them? Who kept them there? That is the question to ask.”

    While denying that there was anything incriminating found in their home, the family accused Mr. Ogbizi of fabricating the story to justify what he described as illegal raiding of their compound and also to appear as if he was working in order to please his masters.

    The younger Kanu said what the police came to do in the home was to remove the CCTV which he said had been recording what the military and police had been doing in their house.

    “The policemen came to our house and ransacked the entire compound including my mum and my father’s rooms, removing my mum’s boxes, our TV and generator sets, bags of rice and many personal belongings without knowing that we had a CCTV recording their activities in the house. But when they got clue about the CCTV and in order to concoct whatever that they would present to the public to label our family bad, they came back and removed the CCTV from where they were hung.

    “I am telling the international community to prevail on this people. What the Police and other security agencies are doing in my house, my community, in my state and the entire Biafran Land is evil. It is clear that out of desperation, they are trying to cover their tracks and they have failed.

    READ ALSO: Igbo not marginalised in cabinet appointments —Buhari

    “Nobody can tag IPOB a terrorist organization. We don’t carry arms and arms never solved any dispute. They should engage IPOB leadership genuinely. We are not violent. We don’t give life and we can’t take one. They have rubbished the name of the country called Nigeria, that’s why we are called Biafrans.

    “They invaded the house and took away the CCTV now they said that they discovered petrol bomb and the rest of it, when we had only one person in the house. How possible is that? Who planted them?”

    He said if there was any bomb in their house, it was planted by the police the day they came on the October 8, adding that the police did not arrest any technician involved in bomb making, but their guard called Chukwu.

    Kanu further stated, “If Ogbizi was serving in his Cross River State, he wouldn’t have raided the palace of the Obong of Calabar under any guise the way hew raid my father’s palace and boasted he would raid it again, this can only happen in Igbo land.

    “And let me tell you something, the reason they removed the former CP (Adeleye Oyebade) was that he knew that IPOB has been non-violent in their activities and he stood on the side of truth, he refused to be compromised that was why they removed him and brought this one from Cross River State who is on a mission he will never accomplish.”

  • Security men arrest ‘man with weapon in Kanu’s compound’

    Security men arrest ‘man with weapon in Kanu’s compound’

    •Banned IPOB leader’s brother: soldiers remove our personal items

    Soldiers amd policemen returned to defeunct Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Leader Nnamdi Kanu’s family compound in Afaraukwu, Umuahia yesterday in search of arms.

    Troops of Operation Python Dance on September 14 entered the compound; thereafter, Kanu’s whereabouts have been unknown.

    The Desk Officer of Operation Python Dance in (Abia State) said “somebody was arrested with weapon in the compound”.

    The Army officer, who preferred to be simply identified as Desk Officer for the operation, said it was jointly carried out with the police. He said our reporter should direct further enquiries to the police.

    He denied the claims by Nnamdi Kanu’s brother Emmanuel who accused “the invading soldiers” of taking away household items like television sets, generating sets and clothes among others.

    The officer said the operation was based on intelligence that arms were hidden in the compound.

    He said “the things removed may be technical items.”

    Emmanuel urged the international community to prevail on the Army to stop raiding their home and to produce his bother.

    Spokesman of the the Police in Abia State Geoffrey Ogbonna did not pick calls put across to his phone.

    He also did not respond to a text message sent to his phone as at the time of filing this report last night.

    Commissioner of Police Anthony Ogbizi also did not pick his calls even though it rang out twice.

  • Kanu’s kinsman seeks his repatriation from UK to face trial

    Kanu’s kinsman seeks his repatriation from UK to face trial

    For fear that Nnamdi Kanu’s sureties may be held responsible should he fail to return for his trial, a Federal High Court in Abuja has been asked to compel the Federal Government to have him brought back to the country.

    The request is contained in a suit filed on October 5 by an indigene of Abia State, Ugochukwu Kenneth, through his lawyers Obor John and Tersagh Unande.

    Named as de?fendants are:  the British High Commission, the Comptroller-General of Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).

    Kanu and some other member of his defunct group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), are being tried before Justice Binta Nyako (also of the Federal High Court, Abuja) for alleged treason.

    The court granted only Kanu bail on health grounds on April 25. In meeting the bail conditions, three individuals, including Senator Eyinanaya Abaribe, stood surety for Kanu to guarantee that he would attend court until the trial is concluded.

    But in a suit filed in his name on September 26, also before the Federal High Court in Abuja, his lawyer Ifeanyi Ejiofor, accused the Army of abducting Kanu.

    Ejiofor stated, among others, that Kanu had not been seen since some soldiers invaded his home on September 14, during which shots were fired and people allegedly died. Some were injured, he said.

    Kanu’s lawyer’s claim about his whereabouts was, however, countered in an interview by former Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu, who said Kanu had escaped to Britain through Malaysia.

    The plaintiff in the fresh suit, Uguchukwu Kenneth,agreed with the ex-governor’s position on Kanu’s whereabouts and requested that the NIS be compelled to repatriate him to enable him face his trial, which is expected to resume on October 17.

    Kanneth stated, in a supporting affidavit, that “Senator Enyinnaya Harcourt Abaribe, representing the good people of Abia South Senatorial District of Abia State; Tochukwu Uchendu and Jewish Chief High Priest Immanuel -El Shalom Oka-Ben Madu perfected the bail bond which facilitated the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

    “Upon the perfection of the bail and consequent released of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from prison custody, Mazi Kanu has, to the best of my knowledge, breached all the bail conditions to wit; granting press interviews while on bail, participating in any rally, or being found in a crowd of more than ten persons in the course of the bail.

    The case has been assigned to Justice John Tsoho. It is fixed for October 12 for its first mention.