Detained leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu yesterday said that violence in the Southeast would end if he regains freedom.
Kanu spoke shortly after Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja denied him bail. An accelerated hearing of his case was, however, okayed by Nyako.
The IPOB claimed that persons he suspected to be in government and those hiding under the name of IPOB to cause the mayhem in the zone were doing so because of his detention.
His words: “Anybody committing crime cannot go free. I swear it. Anybody committing crime in the Southeast cannot go free.
“They are doing it because I am in the DSS (Department of State Services) custody. If I were to be outside, nobody could try this. I suspect that some people in government are complicit. They are making money with the insecurity.
“They know if Nnamdi Kanu is outside, in two minutes this nonsense will stop. Who is the bagger or idiot that will speak when I am talking?
“That, I will give an order in the Southeast, who is the idiot that will counter it? Nobody can. I am Nnamdi Kanu. Rubbish!
“Anybody involved in any form of violence in the East in the name of IPOB is a goner and they know it. Let me come out of this mess, only two minutes, there will be peace in the Southeast.”
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Kanu is being tried on a seven-count bordering on treasonable felony and terrorism-related offences.
Kanu told the court that he was not free to consult freely with his lawyers any time they visited
In a dramatic mode, he pulled off his Liverpool sports wears, to show the judge parts of his armpit to prove that he had a health challenge.
His trial resumed following the December 15, 2023 judgment of the Supreme Court, which voided an earlier judgment by the Court of Appeal, freeing Kanu.
During the proceedings yesterday, Justice Nyako dismissed a fresh bail application by Kanu’s lawyer Alloy Ejimakor, saying she had rejected an earlier one.
Binta said she was of the view that the only option opened to Kanu was for him to appeal the earlier decision on his bail.
The judge equally rejected Kanu’s request to be allowed unfettered access to anybody who wishes to visit him in custody.
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