Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has appealed to the Court of Appeal to restore the bail previously granted to him by an Abuja Federal High Court.
Kanu’s appeal also challenges the appellate court’s decision to deny his transfer from the Department of State Services (DSS) facility to Kuje prison.
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The bail, originally granted in 2017 on treasonable felony charges, was revoked when Kanu failed to appear as required.
Following his rearrest in Kenya and extradition to Nigeria in 2021, eight of the fifteen charges against him were dismissed by Justice Binta Nyako in April 2022.
The remaining charges were quashed by the Court of Appeal on October 13, 2022, which ordered Kanu’s release.
However, this release was stalled by an Appeal Court stay of execution on October 28, 2022, following a federal government appeal to the Supreme Court.
On December 15, 2023, the Supreme Court reversed the Appeal Court’s decision, mandating Kanu to resume his trial at the Federal High Court.
On May 20, 2024, Justice Nyako denied Kanu’s application to restore his bail, instead modifying counsel visitation conditions.
Kanu’s lead counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, contested this ruling on several grounds, arguing that the court erred in its assessment of the DSS detention conditions and its impact on Kanu’s right to a fair trial.
Ejimakor’s notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal, dated June 8, 2024, seeks to overturn the Federal High Court’s decision, restore Kanu’s bail under the original or revised terms, and transfer him to a more suitable place of custody.
He argues that the trial court misdirected itself by failing to recognize the hostile conditions at the DSS facility and the resulting miscarriage of justice.
Ejimakor further contends that the court wrongly held that no steps could be taken regarding Kanu’s bail until the outcome of the sureties’ appeal.
The appeal seeks orders to reinstate Kanu’s bail and provide an alternative place of custody to ensure a fair trial.
The Court of Appeal will now review the grounds and reliefs set out in Ejimakor’s notice, including reinstating Kanu’s bail and possibly remanding him to home detention or house arrest.
