Buhari tells Boris at Commonwealth summit that Kanu will not be granted bail again

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has ruled out the granting of bail to the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) leader Nnamdi Kanu saying that when he was once granted that privilege he absconded and fled the country.

 

Highly controversial, Mr Kanu has been campaigning for the recreation of the independent republic of Biafra which broke away from Nigeria between July 1967 and January 1970 during the civil war. His campaign, which has led to the phenomenal growth of Ipob, has set him at odds with the Nigerian government who him arrested and put on trial for treason.

 

While the case was still pending, Mr Kanu was granted bail in April 2017 on health grounds but skipped his bail after flouting the conditions given to him by the court and fled Nigeria. In a dramatic development, however, in June last year, Mr Kanu was abducted by Nigerian security operatives in Kenya and flown back to Abuja where his trial resumed.

 

President Buhari, who shed some light on the matter at the ongoing Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda,  said Mr Kanu was being given every opportunity under the law to justify all the uncomplimentary things said against Nigeria while he was in Britain. During a bilateral meeting with the British prime minister Boris Johnson, he added that considering Mr  Kanu’s jumping of bail earlier, the federal government may not consider granting him such a privilege anymore.

 

“He felt very safe in Britain and said awful things against Nigeria. We eventually got him when he stepped out of the United Kingdom, and we sent him to court. Let him defend all that he said there.

 

 “His lawyers have access to him. Remember he jumped bail before, how are we sure he won’t do it again if he’s admitted to bail?” President Buhari added.

 

Prime Minister Johnson said he was delighted about the good news on trade between the two countries, adding that the UK was further reducing tariffs on some goods going to Nigeria. he then offered condolences on the  recent attacks in Nigeria, particularly on churches.

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