The Federal Government has replied to
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe’s application seeking to withdraw as one of
the sureties for the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of
Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, describing the application as belated.
The government, in its counter-affidavit
and written address filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja to
oppose Abaribe’s request, told Abaribe that Kanu was in his custody and
he had to produce him for the continuation of his trial.
It stated in its counter-affidavit that
Abaribe was aware that Kanu “has long violated the bail conditions
handed down by this honourable court” on April 24, 2017 before September
11 when he claimed to have lost contact with the defendant.
The counter-affidavit read in part,
“That it was at this point at violating the conditions at the bail that
the senator surety ought to surrender the 1st defendant and or bring up
this application; “That this application is belated and ill-timed;
“The applicant failed to apply to the
court timeously, stating on oath that the defendant bound by
recognizance to appear before this court had violated the bail condition
given by this court.”
The prosecuting counsel, Mr. Shuaibu
Labaran, argued in the written address that Abaribe “failed woefully” by
allegedly aiding and abetting Kanu to flout his bail conditions.
The written address stated, “My lord,
the surety has failed woefully to abide by the terms of the contract he
entered into with this court and therefore cannot claim frustration.
“My lord, we urge that the court hold,
that surety having refused to do what he ought to have done pursuant to
section 174 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 aided and
abetted the 1st defendant in the flouting of the bail conditions of
this court and should forfeit the bond he entered into.”
Denying that Kanu was not in the custody
of the Nigerian Army, the Federal Government stated in its
counter-affidavit that the defendant remained in Abaribe’s custody.
“That the military activities in Abia
State tagged ‘Operation Python Dance II’ was a routine exercise in its
second year carried out by the military at the end of every year.
“That the 1st defendant is not in the custody of the Nigerian military or any other security agency in that regard.
“That the 1st defendant is in custody of the applicant (Abaribe).”
Kanu was absent from court when his case
came up on October 17, 2017, but his co-defendants with whom he was
being prosecuted on charges of treasonable felony were produced in court
by prison officials.
Abaribe’s lawyer, Ogechi Ogunna,
informed the court of the motion by his client seeking to withdraw as
Kanu’s surety but the judge said she would not hear it until the senator
first produced the missing defendant.
She gave Abaribe and the two other sureties up till November 20 to produce the defendant in court.
Meanwhile, the Indigenous People of
Biafra on Sunday insisted that the Federal Government of President
Muhammadu Buhari knew the whereabouts of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
It asked the government to produce Kanu
without further delay in order not to provoke the group to go into armed
conflict with the government.
In a statement made available to our
correspondent in Awka, Anambra State by the group’s Media and Publicity
Secretary, Emma Powerful, IPOB accused Buhari and some leaders in the
South-East geopolitical zone of conspiracy of silence on the issue.
The statement read, “We are asking
Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Nnia Nwodo and South-East governors to
produce Nnamdi Kanu because they or their representatives all
participated in countless meetings in Abuja and Enugu where the modus
operandi of the genocidal Operation Python Dance II was agreed and
ratified.
“It was as a direct result of military
invasion of the home of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and massacre of 28 innocent
unarmed civilians with many missing that has led us to once again
politely ask that our leader be presented to us dead or alive.
“It is becoming clear to everybody that
Muhammadu Buhari, Nnia Nwodo and South East governors are desperately
trying to draw IPOB into armed confrontation and militancy to justify
their genocidal clampdown on innocent people of the South-East and
South-South.”
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