The leadership of Intersociety is worried over the sketchy situation on the ground pertaining to a conditional bail purportedly given yesterday (19th October 2015) to Citizen Nnamdi Kanu of theRadio Biafra, which was widely reported in the print and online media within and outside Nigeria.
The widely publicized news of (sketchy) conditional bail, under reference, is by all intents and purposes, unreliable, sketchy and complicated. The legal and media angles to the said conditional bail are totally clothed with legal quackery and media mediocrity.
For example, the following questions were not answered in the referenced media report: Was Nnamdi Kanu arraigned before a named Chief Magistrate Court or charged before a named Federal or FCT High Court? If he was so arraigned or charged, what charges were preferred against him? Who stood as prosecution team, AGF or DSS legal department? Were the charges bailable if he was arraigned before a Magistrate Court? Who was the presiding authority, Chief Magistrate or a Judge? Are the charges against him, if any, known to the 1999 Constitution or its subsidiary criminal laws, with their penalties clearly defined in written law? What date is the returned or adjourned date? Was Citizen Nnamdi Kanu represented by any legal team and what are the identities of members of his legal team, if any?
Apart from the clear absence of the foregoing ingredients in the said wide statement of his bail, our update investigation still indicates that Citizen Kanu was still in the custody of the DSS as at 7pm this evening (20th October 2015).
Pieces of information obtained by Intersociety this evening from the top hierarchy of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)including Office of Coordinator of Coordinators and Directorate of the State in UK and USA clearly show that Citizen Nnamdi Kanu is yet to be set free or released from the DSS dudgeon. In other words, he is still in detention as we write.
We advise the media practitioners and legal team handling and following the matter under reference to always cross-check their facts and do a thorough job before rushing to the press.
This type of half baked and contradictory information can have fatal effects on the detained Biafran self determination activist. Criminal and hired elements within State security organization can perfectly silence Citizen Kanu following this sort of confused and contradictory report and smartly exonerate the State Security agencies from any traceable culpability.
As we earlier demanded, Citizen Nnamdi Kanu must be charged to court of superior records or competent jurisdiction strictly within constitutionally or statutorily grounded offenses and clearly defined and written penalties or be released unconditionally and immediately.
Signed:
Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman
International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety)
[email protected], [email protected]
