Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected Nnamdi Kanu’s plea for the reinstatement of his revoked bail and his transfer from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) to either house arrest or prison custody.
The Judge dismissed Kanu’s request, citing lack of merit, as similar appeals had previously been brought before her by Kanu.
In her ruling on Kanu’s application, Justice Nyako confirmed that Kanu had indeed violated the terms of his earlier bail by fleeing the country. Additionally, she noted that the sureties who had stood for him in his initial bail application had requested to be discharged, as they could not locate Kanu or ascertain his whereabouts.
Justice Nyako advised Kanu that his only recourse was to appeal to the Court of Appeal, dismissing his lead counsel’s argument that the Supreme Court had ruled that his bail should not have been revoked. She clarified that she had reviewed the Supreme Court judgment and found no such assertion by the lawyer.
Kanu vehemently opposed standing trial before any Nigerian court, asserting that it would constitute a violation of Nigeria’s Constitution and international laws. He accused counsel to the Federal Government, Asiwaju Solomon Awomolo SAN, of engaging in illegal conduct to prosecute him.
Expressing his anger, Kanu stated that he could not be tried in Nigeria because the Supreme Court had declared his forcible removal from Kenya illegal. He insisted that any action taken against him contrary to the Supreme Court’s ruling would be deemed an act of terrorism.
Kanu criticized Awomolo, branding him a terrorist and dishonest for conducting a trial in defiance of an international treaty entered into by Nigeria, which he argued had the force of law.