A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered that the detained leader of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) be remanded in prison custody pending the hearing and determination of his bail application.
Justice James Tsoho gave the order shortly after Nnamdi Kanu and two others pleaded not guilty to a six-count charge of treasonable felony and illegal importation of a radio transmitter preferred against them by the Federal Government.
Mr Kanu entered a not guilty plea to a three-count charge of broadcasting materials aimed at causing Nigeria’s disintegration, managing an unlawful society known as IPOB and importing into Nigeria a radio transmitter concealed in a container, said to contain household items.
Kanu’s co-accused, Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi, also pleaded not guilty to a three-count charge of assisting Kanu to manage an unlawful society, accepting and keeping a radio transmitter belonging to Kanu and being in possession of a pump action gun without lawful authority.
The Prosecutor, Mohammed Diri, informed the court that the prosecution has completed its investigation and is ready for trial.
Following the prosecutor’s submission, the defence team, led by Mr Chuks Muoma, made an oral application for his clients to be transferred to prison custody.
After listening to arguments for and against the application, Justice Tsoho ordered the accused persons to be remanded in Kuje Prisons and adjourned hearing of the bail application till January 25.
On Monday, some protesters in solidarity with the IPOB staged another protest in in Asaba, south-south Nigeria, calling for the release of Mr Kanu.
Protesters in the hundreds gathered in the early hours of the morning, chanting songs in solidarity with the IPOB.
During the protest, the Biafra supporters stormed the Asaba-Benin expressway, blocking one part of the road for several hours from the Federal Road Safety Corp junction through Summit Junction in Asaba the capital of Delta State.
