A Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday dismissed eight of the 15 terrorism and felony charges filed against the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu.
Justice Binta Nyako gave the ruling on a preliminary objection filed by the IPOB leader.
“In this instant preliminary objection application, I have read the counts and come to the conclusion that counts six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12 and 14 have not disclosed any offence against the defendant,” she said.
“‘Counts one, two, three, four, five, eight and 15 show some allegations, which the defendant has to answer. The court shall proceed to try the defendant on those counts.”
The court also fixed May 18 to rule on an application Kanu filed to be released on bail, pending the determination of the treasonable felony charge the Federal Government entered against him.
Kanu’s lawyer Mike Ozekhome (SAN) argued that his client was entitled to bail considering that he still enjoys the presumption of innocence under the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
Prosecution counsel Shuaibu Labaran, however, maintained that Kanu betrayed the previous discretion the court exercised in his favour, when he jumped bail and escaped from the country in 2017.
