A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to four men charged with the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu with the offence of treasonable felony.
Those granted bail are IPOB’s National Coordinator, Bright Chimezie; suspected members of the group, Chidiebere Onwudiwe and Benjamin Madubugwu; and a former Field Maintenance Engineer seconded to the telecommunication company, MTN, David Nwawuisi.
Justice Binta Nyako, in a ruling on their bail application, agreed to allow them on bail on grounds of ill health and the number of years they had spent in detention awaiting trial.
The judge said the defendants had spent an average of three years in custody when the maximum penalty for the offences they were charged with, if convicted, ranged from five to seven years.
Justice Nyako observed that Chimezie had earlier been granted bail by the Federal High Court in Uyo in May 2017 but the Department of State Service which was then holding him in custody refused to release him.
The judge said Section 163 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 made bail a right of every defendant unless the prosecution was able to prove why the defendant was not entitled to bail.
She: “Taking all these into consideration consideration, I have not seen any reason why I should not grant bail to the defendants.”
The judge attached to the bail granted the four defendants conditions similar to the ones she attached to the bail granted Kanu in April last year.
He restrained them from granting any press interview, participating in any form of rally or found in the gathering of people.
In addition, Justice Nyako ordered them to produce two sureties each, for whom the cash sum of N10m should be deposited in the court’s account.
The judge equally ordered them to deposit their passports with the court registry and must not travel out the country without the court’s permission.
She ordered the defendants to report to the Commissioners of Police in their various states of residence every two weeks.
The judge further ordered Chimezie to report to the Commissioner of Police in Rivers State; Onwudiwe and Nwasuisi to the Commissioner of Police in Enugu State and Madubugwu to the Commissioner of Police in Anambra State.
The judge said, “Let me warn you. There should be no gather, no welcome oyoyo (a reference to a welcome party).
“Just take care of your health, spend time with your family. Don’t travel outside the country without the court’s permission. No press interview of any form.”
Justice Nyako rejected the plea by Chimezie’s lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, who also stands as Kanu’s lawyer, to substitute the requirement for cash deposit with the signing of bail bond worth the same amount.
Ejiofor had expressed concern that it would be difficult for his client and other defendants to get N20m cash each.
The judge however modified the condition to allow the defendants to be released pending when they would get the cash.
Justice Nyako added that she would impose another condition to guarantee that they would deposit the cash in the court’s account after being released.
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The judge adjourned to November 14 for the continuation of trial.
