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Court postpones IPOB hope of uniting with Kanu, others

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Court postpones IPOB hope of uniting with Kanu, others

The hope of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to have their leader, Nnamdi Kanu and other members released on Monday has been postponed till April 25.

Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, fixed the date to rule on their bail application.

The defendants had through their lawyers asked the court to grant them bail on the five-count criminal charges preferred against them by the Federal Government.

According to the defendants, all the allegations the Federal Government preferred against them were bail-able offences.

IPOB had in a release before Monday’s court sitting on the matter, expressed hope that their leader Kanu and others detained along with him, Chidiebere Onwudiwe, Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi, were going to be released on Monday.

However, that hope was postponed following adjournment of the matter till April 25, when the court will decide whether or not Kanu and others will be released on bail pending their trial.

At the court sitting on Monday, counsel to Kanu, Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, contended that the court having in its March 1 ruling struck out six out of 11 count charges the Federal Government initially leveled against the defendants, should go ahead and release them on bail.

He noted that charges that were struck out by the court bordered on criminal conspiracy and alleged involvement of the defendants in acts of terrorism.

He argued that since the part of the charges expunged by the court were those that would have warranted their continuous detention, that there was no justifiable ground any longer for which the court should not release on bail both Kanu and the other defendants.

The other defendants’ lawyers adopted Ejiofor’s argument and insisted based on the pending charges, they no longer posed security threat to justify their continued detention.

Read also: IPOB leader, Kanu, to face only 5 charges as full trial begins March 20

Meanwhile, Justice Nyako also fixed April 6 to determine merit of the application by the defendants, asking her to vary the order that gave FG the nod to shield identities of all the witnesses billed to testify against them.

The defendants had also applied for a review of Justice Nyako’s earlier ruling that witnesses will testify against the defendants behind a screen and use pseudo names.

But dissatisfied with that decision, the defendants are insisting they are not going to submit themselves to any form of secret trial and demanded for a review of the judgement.

Consequent upon their demand, Justice Nyako also on Monday, fixed April 6 to determine merit of application by the defendants.

Kanu and the other defendants are facing trial over their role in seeking for the restoration of Sovereign State of Biafra, which separated from Nigeria between 1967 -1970, but became part of Nigeria again after its defeat in the civil war that ensued following its declaration.

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