1 month ago
18
…says helium has a lawsuit to answer
By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA– The Federal High Court sitting successful Abuja, connected Friday, declined to halt the ongoing proceedings of the detained person of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The court, successful a ruling that was delivered by Justice James Omotosho, dismissed arsenic lacking successful merit, a question Kanu filed to quash the seven-count coercion and treasonable felony complaint the Federal Government preferred against him.
It ordered the suspect to unfastened his defence to the allegations against him.
The tribunal held that a prima facie lawsuit has been established against the suspect to warrant explanations from him.
It, therefore, fixed October 8 for Kanu to unfastened his defence.
It volition beryllium recalled that the embattled IPOB person had, successful the exertion helium filed done his squad of lawyers led by a erstwhile Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, prayed the tribunal to discharge and acquit him of the charge, insisting helium has nary lawsuit to answer.
He maintained that FG failed to adduce immoderate credible grounds to nail him to the charge.
According to the defendant, neither documentary nor oral grounds of 5 witnesses that the national authorities produced to attest against him established a prima facie lawsuit to warrant the tribunal to compel him to participate his defence to the charge.
Therefore, helium urged the tribunal to uphold a no-case-submission helium filed to terminate further proceedings successful the matter.
Arguing the application, the defence lawyer, Chief Agabi, SAN, stressed that though the national authorities accused his lawsuit of inciting unit successful the country, it failed to telephone immoderate witnesser to archer the tribunal however helium oregon she was incited by the suspect to perpetrate crime.
He noted that the witnesses were operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, who admitted that their roles were constricted to obtaining statements from the defendant.
Agabi, SAN, further argued that nary study of probe connected the coercion allegation against Kanu was made disposable to the court.
He drew the attraction of the tribunal to the information that, though the complaint was amended 8 times, nary witnesser was produced to springiness grounds connected however helium oregon she was affected by unit that was allegedly instigated by the defendant.
He argued that Kanu’s broadcasts were misconstrued arsenic helium lone urged radical to support themselves against marauding killers, adding that the suspect was simply boasting erstwhile helium threatened to bring down the world.
Agabi, SAN, argued that asking Nigerians to support themselves was a law close that has been re-echoed by notable citizens that included the Director General of the DSS, Mr. Adeola Ajayi and a erstwhile Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Danjuma, rtd.
More so, helium faulted the prolonged detention of his lawsuit successful solitary confinement for implicit six years, saying the enactment was successful breach of planetary laws that stipulated that nary 1 should beryllium kept successful a solitary confinement for much than 15 days.
Agabi, SAN, arsenic faulted the proscription of IPOB without the President’s approval.
“Without the President’s support determination tin not beryllium immoderate proscription.
“We are saying determination is nary proscription, due to the fact that determination is nary statesmanlike approval; if they person it, they should bring it,” helium added.
Besides, helium queried the jurisdiction of the tribunal to effort the complaint relating to Kanu’s alleged unlawful importation of a vigor transmitter into the country.
On its part, FG urged the tribunal to disregard the no-case-submission and bid Kanu to unfastened his defence to the complaint against him.
The prosecution counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, said the tribunal should nonstop the suspect to explicate wherefore helium engaged successful coercion related activiti...
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