Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, has been denied bail by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja (IPOB).
In her ruling on the bail application, Justice Binta Nyako stated that the problem of Kanu’s absence in the past, since 2017, should be resolved before his bail plea is considered.
Kanu, she continued, violated his previous release restrictions, and his current bail application is invalid until that is heard.
The Federal Government submitted a six-count revised charge against Kanu on Wednesday morning, ahead of the bail application hearing.
However, Justice Nyako chastised the prosecution for bringing the modified charge just hours before the judgment. She stated that she was unaware of the revised charge until she arrived in court in the morning.
According to her, the prosecution cannot present the new revised charge to the court on the day of the hearing.
The court observed in denying Kanu’s bail motion that his trial had been delayed since 2015 due to over 19 interlocutory petitions filed in the issue.
As a result, it pleaded with the parties to allow the matter to continue to trial in order for the charge to be resolved.
Kanu had asked the court to release him on bail until the decision of the case against him in an application filed under sections 6(6) and 36(5) and (6) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as sections 161, 162, 163 and 165 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015.