Uproar In Court As The Secret Trial of Nnamdi Kanu Begins

Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, on Tuesday, caused an uproar at the Federal High Court, Abuja, as he rejected the application granted the Department of State Services, DSS, by Justice Binta Nyako, on December 13, to try him secretly.

Kanu, and three others, David Nwawuisi, Benjamin Madubugwu and Chidiebere Onwudiwe, are standing trial over treasonable felony charge.

The IPOB Leader further queried the competence of the 11-count treason charge the Federal Government entered against him and the three others, arguing that there was nothing in the proof of evidence to support the treason charge against them.

The defendants urged Justice Nyako to quash all the charges against them. They also sought leave of the trial court to appeal against the December 1, 2016, ruling that denied them bail.

Following the application, the presiding judge deferred trial of the defendants till Thursday to enable the Federal Government enter its response.

She earlier ordered security operatives to always grant Kanu and his co-accused access to their lawyers. This followed complaint by counsel to the defendants led by Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, that security operatives at Kuje prison often block them from having access to their clients.

Ejiofor further claimed that some persons who went to visit Kanu sometime last year were arrested and killed by security operatives.

Refuting the allegation, the prosecution counsel, Mr. Shuaibu Labaran said he is hearing it for the first time.