Detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has made it clear that he has the capacity to stop violence and killings in the Southeast by the time he gets out of “this mess.”
Kanu, who spoke in an interview with newsmen today, March 19, said that the organisation, which he leads, is not a violent one, saying that some people in government are making money from the Southeast’s insecurity.
He spoke after Justice Binta Nyako of a Federal High Court, Abuja adjourned his trial until April 17, 2024.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Justice Nyako had earlier rejected his bail application and a preliminary objection filed on his behalf by his lawyer, Alloy Ejimakor.
Kanu vowed that those behind the violence leading to wanton killings of their fellow brothers and sisters and burning of property under the guise of being IPOB members would not be spared.
According to him, violence persisted because he is being held in the custody of the Department of State Services, stressing that there would be peace in the entire Southeast of the country.
“Anybody committing crime cannot go free. I swear.
“Anybody committing crime in the South East cannot go free.
“They are doing it because I am in the DSS custody. If I were to be outside, nobody would try that.
“I suspect that some people in the government are complicit. They are making money with the insecurity.
“They know if Nnamdi Kanu is outside, in two minutes, this nonsense will stop. Who is the bagger or idiot that will speak when I am talking?
“That I will give an order in the East, who is the idiot that I will give an order that will counter it?
“Nobody can.VI am Nnamdi Kanu.
“Rubbish!
“Anybody involved in any form of violence in the East in the name of IPOB is a goner and they know it.
“Let me come out of this mess, only two minutes, there will be peace in the east.”
Earlier, Kanu and his lawyer applied that he should be transferred to Kuje Correctional Centre following the refusal by the court to admit him to bail.
They said that granting the request would enable them to prepare for their defence adequately.
Ejimakor insisted that Kanu’s lawyers are having difficulty in consulting with him at the DSS custody, where he is currently kept.
He said that they won’t be able to proceed with the trial unless the detained IPOB leader is moved from the DSS custody.
He alleged that the DSS personnel usually confiscate documents brought for Kanu by his lawyers, even as he alleged that the security operatives usually stop them from taking notes during visitation, and that they eavesdrop on Kanu’s consultation with lawyers on matters pertaining to his defence, among others.
The lawyer then urged the court to make an order transferring him to Kuje Correctional Centre for them to have adequate time and facility to defend him in accordance with Section 36(6)(b) and (c) of the 1999 Constitution.
Also speaking in the open court after he was granted leave to speak, Kanu pleaded with the court to send him to the correctional centre.
He said that apart from the fact that he was not free to consult with his team of lawyers any time they visited, the DSS had no medical facility good enough to take care of his health.
The IPOB leader, in a dramatic mode, pulled off his top Liverpool jersey to show the judge parts of his armpit to complain about his alleged poor treatment.
But Justice Nyako refused the oral application seeking the transfer of Kanu to Kuje Correctional Centre, saying that an order declining the request had already been made in the past.
She said that the only option was for the defence to challenge the order at the Court of Appeal.
The judge held that the prison was insecure, citing over 15 terrorism suspects that escaped from the correctional centre in the recent past.
Kanu then sought that an order should be made placing him under house arrest instead of the DSS facility.
He alleged that his continuous detention at the DSS custody did not augur well with him going by his state of health.
Justice Nyako rather directed Ejimakor to apply for variation of conditions granted to visit Kanu in the detention.
Then Ejimakor applied that Kanu should be kept in a private custody in order to allow his lawyers free access to him, saying that this is their concern going by Section 36 of the constitution.
The judge said that since the court is a court of record, the request should be filed to afford the prosecution to also respond appropriately.
Counsel for the Federal Government, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, also disagreed with Ejimakor’s application.
The senior lawyer said that an order of the court had already been made and that the action of the defence was to delay trial after the court had already granted an accelerated hearing of the matter.
Awomolo said that there is a guideline for lawyers visiting Kanu at the DSS facility, but more often than not, they flouted the directive.
He said that the practice is that any lawyer paying a visit to the defendant must first write to the Director General of the security outfit for clearance.
He said that this is to guard against a visitor coming into the facility with the intention of harming the IPOB leader and causing unnecessary problems in the country.
Awomolo said that though the defendant had a team of lawyers, there had been a time when a lawyer who visited Kanu was not even known to him.
He said that there is nowhere in the world where a terrorist suspect is allowed to move freely.
The senior counsel said that he is ready to proceed with the trial and that their witnesses were in court.
But Ejimakor disagreed, saying his client should be kept in a place where they would be well prepared to defend their case.
Justice Nyako adjourned the matter until April 17 for hearing.
