… Court places him in DSS Custody
The leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has been re-arrested and brought back to Nigeria to face his trial, Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has said.
At a joint press briefing on Tuesday with the State Security Service (SSS) in Abuja, Mr Malami disclosed that international collaborative efforts with security agencies led to Mr Kanu’s arrest and repatriation to Nigeria.
Mr Kanu and his co-defendant are facing treasonable felony charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Mr Kanu fled the country in September 2017 after an invasion of his home by the military in Afara-Ukwu, near Umuahia, Abia State.
The Nigerian government obtained a court order on September 20, 2017, to designate IPOB a terrorist group and to proscribe it.
Meanwhile, Justice Binta Nyako of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on Tuesday ordered the remand of a fugitive leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).
The remand order was sequel to an application by a federal government lawyer, Shuaibu labaran.
Kanu was said to have been intercepted by joint security operatives of the government.
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, who made the disclosure in a joint press briefing with the DSS and Police, said Kanu was arrested on Sunday, June 27, 2021.
However, the briefing was silent on where he was arrested.
Ruling on the request for remand in the custody of the DSS, Justice Nyako, held that the prosecution should inform Kanu’s lawyer of his rearrest and remand in the custody of the DSS.
The judge subsequently adjourned till July 26 for a continuation of trial.
Kanu was granted bail in 2017 and subsequently jumped bail and was declared wanted by the government.
Apart from jumping his bail, the federal government is also holding Kanu responsible for various acts of violence recently in the southeast.
Details later…
