Legal Nigeria

Kanu to appear in court today for treason trial, as IPOB declares sit-at-home

By Editor

[FILES] Men of the Nigeria State Secret Police (SSS) escorts Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu (2nd L), outside the Federal High Court during the trial of the IPOB leader who is facing a 7-count amended charge on alleged treasonable felony and terrorism at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Nigeria, on October 21, 2021. – A high-profile case against a Nigerian separatist accused of terrorism and treason was adjourned on October 21, 2021, lawyers said, after a court appearance under heavy security in the capital Abuja.<br />Nnamdi Kanu, 53, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) group, which wants a separate state for the ethnic Igbo people in the southeast, was arrested abroad in June and brought back to Nigeria to face trial. (Photo by Kola Sulaimon / AFP)

The Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, will return to court in Abuja today for a resumed hearing on the charges brought against him by the Federal Government.

The Federal High Court, Abuja, had three weeks ago fixed November 10, 2021, to hear an application filed by Kanu challenging the competence of the treasonable felony charges filed against him by the Federal Government.https://7ee5e1b5f28b2ed312a2c5de61b91d52.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

He also asked the judge, Binta Nyako, to dismiss the newly-amended charges of seven counts.

Kanu was charged with terrorism, treason and perpetuation of falsehoods against President Muhammadu Buhari, mainly through broadcasts on the controversial Radio Biafra outlet and also through social media.

He had pleaded not guilty during his last trial on October 21, 2021.

MEANWHILE, the IPOB has announced the sit-at-home today in solidarity with its leader, Kanu, who appears in court today.

Media and Publicity Secretary of the group, Emma Powerful, urged people of the South-East to remain indoors and those residing in Abuja to move to the venue of Kanu’s trial.

IPOB has exempted hospitals and its members of staff, as well as journalists, from the order.

“Our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu goes to court tomorrow (today) November 10, 2021, and our people should stay indoors while others move to Abuja in solidarity with our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and we are expecting the Nigerian government and the Department of State Services (DSS) to release him unconditionally because he committed no crime.

“We hope people will comply with this order and obey the resolve to support Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. IPOB must allow our people like doctors,  nurses, ambulances and journalists to operate during the sit-at-home because we don’t want pregnant women and sick people to have issues or complications because of their health.

“Doctors must come to the hospitals but you must identify yourself and journalists must be allowed to operate and report what is going on in the whole of Biafraland,” Powerful stated.