Nnamdi Kanu’s Attorney, Ejimakor Provides Summary Of Last Court Sessions

“It is on basis of this pronouncement that we made a vigorous submission on 17th April that the Federal High Court is bound to restore Kanu’s bail, as demanded by the Constitution at Section 287(1) thus: “The decisions of the Supreme court shall be enforced in any part of the Federation by all authorities and persons,and by courts with subordinate jurisdiction to that of the Supreme Court.“ Ejimakor emphasized that Kanu’s legal team argued for bail restoration as the optimal solution to facilitate the court-ordered accelerated trial, highlighting that the stringent DSS detention conditions would mitigate the severe risks posed to Kanu’s fair trial rights.

“Therefore, the trial court knew that the said extra judicial and illegal actions of the appellant made it impossible for the respondent to be in court for his trial, that the respondent’s absence is not intentional or deliberate absence and that the respondent is not running from prosecution or running to avoid prosecution.

“On the basis of this deception, the appellant applied to the trial court for an order revoking the respondent’s bail, forfeiting the amount securing the bail bond of his sureties and an order issuing a bench warrant for his arrest.

In a situation such as this one, where the prosecution has taken extrajudicial actions against the defendant in a pending criminal case brought by it and made it impossible for the defendant who is on bail to be in court for his or her trial, it is wrong to treat such a defendant as having jumped bail in the sense that he is running from prosecution or running to avoid prosecution in the pending criminal case in respect of which he was granted bail.

“In the light of the foregoing, the trial court acted unfairly and without rational and legal justifiable basis by its decisions revoking the respondent’s bail, forfeiting the amount securing the bail bond of his sureties and its order issuing a bench warrant for his arrest.

Yet during proceedings in the pending criminal case against him, they applied that his bail be revoked, that a warrant for his arrest be issued and his sureties forfeit their respective bail bond and that his trial in his absence be ordered because he had jumped bail and is not in court to stand his trial.

It was, therefore, wrong and malicious for the appellant, that had caused the respondent to flee from his home and country to secure his life, and that had therefore caused his unavoidable absence from court to inform and thereby deceived the trial court that the respondent had jumped bail.

It is glaring from the record of the proceedings in the trial court that it granted the said orders prayed for by the appellant with knowledge of the fact that the respondent’s absence from court was caused by the invasion of his home by army officers of the appellant..

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