Wednesday 18 November 2015

Court orders DSS to produce Radio Biafra director and leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu

Nnamdi Kanu
The Magistrate Court 1 sitting in Abuja has ordered the Department of State Service (DSS) to produce the Director of Radio Biafra and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, before it next week Monday.

The Chief Magistrate Shauibu Usman gave the order on Wednesday following the absence of the accused in court when the trial was to commence.

Usman noted that the DSS had refused to bring Kanu to court for the second time despite another order made on October 23 to that effect.

He therefore ordered the agency to bring the accused unfailingly before the court on Monday, November 23 to answer criminal charges brought against him by the federal government.

Usman insisted that no trial can continue in a criminal case in the absence of the accused, adding that the only condition that can make a court to excuse the absence of an accused has not come up.

The decision of the magistrate followed a claim by the prosecution counsel, Mr. Moses Idakwo, that the accused person was not brought to court because ordinary application challenging the jurisdiction of the magistrate court to continue the trial was slated for hearing.

Idakwo told the court that as soon as the motion challenging the jurisdiction of the court has been resolved, the DSS would now produce the accused by the court.

However, the submission of Idakwo did not go down well with Usman who reminded the prosecutor that on October 23, he made an order that the accused must at all times be brought to court throughout the trial.

Apart from the absence of the accused in court that stalled the trial, two legal practitioners, Mr. Gabriel Egbule and Vincent Ezechukwu Obete engaged themselves in war of words in the open court on the issue of which side is the authentic lawyer to the accused person.

Egbule who first announced his appearance for the accused person, informed the court that he represented the accused person on October 19 when he was first arraigned and that he was ready to continue to defend the accused person.

He produced a letter he claimed was written to him by the next of kin of the accused person appointing him as lawyer to the accused person.

Also Vincent Obete, produced a letter from the IPOB, signed by its deputy director, Alphonsus Mefor, appointing him as lawyer.

Besides, Obete also produced another letter, dated October 16 from the father of the accused person, Eze Kanu of Afara-Ukwu kingdom, also appointing him as a counsel to defend his son.

Usman, who intervened in the issue said on October 19 when Kanu was brought before him, the accused told the court that he had no lawyer prompting Mr. Gabriel Egbule to fill the gap.

He, however, told the two lawyers that the accused person would on Monday, November 23, determine his own lawyer.

Kanu is standing trial on criminal conspiracy, managing and belonging to an unlawful society and criminal intimidation contrary to Section 97, 97B and 397 of the penal code.

The fact of the case, according to DSS report was that the accused formed an unlawful society with the purpose of bringing into being a Republic of Biafra.
He was alleged to have proclaimed himself as the leader of the Republic of Biafra and established a radio of Biafra.

Kanu was also alleged to have appointed himself Commander of the Loyal Forces of Biafra and was broadcasting to the whole world the dire consequences the the government and people of Nigeria will surfer should they attempt to hinder the actualisation of the Republic of Biafra.

The trial has been fixed for November 23.


Credit: ThisDay

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