Alleged Terrorism: Nnamdi Kanu knows fate April 8

Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court Abuja, has fixed April 8, for ruling on a preliminary objection filed by the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, challenging the validity of the 15-count amended charge preferred against him by the Federal Government.

Justice Nyako fixed the date after Chief Mike Ozekhome SAN, counsel for Kanu as well as Shuaibu Labaran, the prosecution counsel, had adopted arguments for and against the Defendant’s preliminary objection.

In a short adumbration, Ozekhome pleaded with the court to acquit and dismiss all the charges filed against Kanu by the Federal Government.

At a resumed trial on Wednesday, Ozekhome argued that the 15-count amended charge was “defective and baseless”.

Specifically, Ozekhome told the court that his application seeks the “quashing, striking out and dismissing of the 15-count amended charge” against Kanu for being “incompetent and denying the court of jurisdiction” to entertain the charge.

The application, with 34 grounds, and supported by 36-paragraph affidavit, Ozekhome said, also seeks for an order ‘acquitting and discharging;” Kanu for want of jurisdiction, and for the fact that the charges are defective, baseless and incompetent.

Having adopted his application, the defence counsel asked the court to quash, strike out and dismiss the entire charges.

He pleaded with the court to look at the entire grounds and affidavit, from paragraph 5 to 36, of the notice of preliminary objection, in order to arrive at Justice of the matter.

“The defendant was unlawfully and renditionally brought to Nigeria against his will and in flagrant violation of international protocol on extradition.

Besides, the FG did not make any prima facie case against the defendant as no location if where the alleged offences were committed were mentioned.

Ozekhome had argued that the FG did not file terrorism charges against Kanu, and wondered why he should be made to face terrorism charges.

According to the senior lawyer, charges against the Defendant has a global colouration and the alleged offences committed out the jurisdiction of the court.

On the allegation that Kanu is a member of a proscribed terrorist organization, Ozekhome submitted that the court of Appeal is presently hearing an appeal over the proscription of IPOB.

However, the prosecution counsel has asked the court to discountenance Kanu’s objection, urging the court to proceed to order him to enter defence.

“We wish to state emphatically and particularly in paragraphs 7, 8, 9, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30 of the affidavit in support of the motion as going into the substance of the case yet to be heard, Labaran said.

Meanwhile, the Director of Legal, DSS, on Wednesday, told the court that family members of Kanu brought a cloth with a lion’s heart inscripted on it, which “offends our standard operating procedures”.

The DSS official was responding to the court’s question on why Kanu still wore his white Fendi designer cloth to court contrary to the court’s directive at the last adjourned date of January 18.

Ozekhome had complained that despite the court’s order, the DSS had refused  to allow Kanu to change his cloths.

When Justice Nyako asked the defendant; “Mr Kanu, what type of cloth do you want to wear? Kanu replied rather huskily,

“I want to wear the clothes of my people, “Isi Agu”.

In a swift interjection, the judge said ‘that kind of cloth cannot be worn in my court”.

The court also directed the DSS to returned Kanu’s eye glasses which the secret police had seized upon arrest or replace it with a new one.

The order followed a complaint  from Ozekhome that the DSS has refused to release his client’s eye glasses, there by subjecting him to risk of losing his sight.

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