Headline
Biafra: Why Court Reduced FG’s Charge Against Nnamdi Kanu From 15 To 7

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Friday, struck out eight out of the 15-count treasonable felony charge the Federal Government preferred against the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.
Trial Justice Binta Nyako held that the charges were mere repetitions that did not disclose any offence that could be sustained by the proof of evidence before the court.
FG had in the counts that were struck out, alleged that Kanu had through his broadcasts, incited members of the public to not only stage a violent revolution, but to attack police officers and also destroy public facilities in Lagos State.
While the court threw out counts 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12,13 and 14 of the charge, it okayed Kanu’s trial on counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 15.
The ruling followed an application Kanu filed to quash the entire charge against him, which he insisted was manifestly incompetent and legally defective.
READ ALSO: BREAKING: Terrorism: Court Strikes Out 8 Out Of 15 Charges Against Nnamdi Kanu
The embattled IPOB leader, through his team of lawyers led by Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), argued that the court lacked the jurisdiction to try him on the strength of an incompetent charge.
Ozekhome (SAN), further told the court that his client was “unlawfully, brutally and extraordinarily renditioned from Kenya without his consent”.
He argued that since some of the allegations FG levelled against Kanu, were purportedly committed outside the country, the high court, therefore, lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the charge.
“The charges appear to give this court a global jurisdiction over offences that were allegedly committed by the Defendant, without specifying the location or date the said offences were committed”.
He argued that under the Federal High Court Act, such a charge must disclose the specific location where the offence was committed.
More so, Ozekhome contended that Kanu could not be charged with belonging to an unlawful organization since the action of FG, in proscribing the IPOB, is still subject to legal dispute at the Court of Appeal and therefore subjudice.
Consequently, he urged the court to dismiss the charge, as well as to discharge and acquit the defendant of the entire 15-count charge pending against him.
“This case is hollow, there is nothing in it. It is dead on arrival. Elements constituting the offence must occur within the jurisdiction of this court”, he argued.
However, FG’s lawyer, Mr Shuaibu Labaran, opposed the application and urged the court to allow the prosecution to open its case.
He argued that Kanu’s application would touch the substance of the case that is yet to be heard.
“The position as of now is that the IPOB is a proscribed organization which was duly proscribed through the due process of law”.
He argued that Section 32 of the Terrorism Prevention Act imbued the court with the requisite jurisdiction to handle the trial.
READ ALSO: High Court Orders Secret Trial In Terrorism Charges, Moves Nnamdi Kanu’s Case To CCT
“We urged my lord to refuse the application to pave way for the commencement of the trial in Ernest.
“This is a matter that has been pending for over five years now”, the prosecution counsel added.
Meanwhile, the court, fixed slated May 18 to rule on an application Kanu filed to be released on bail, pending the determination of the charge against him.
Whereas, Ozekhome (SAN), argued that his client was entitled to bail considering the presumption of innocence he enjoys under the 1999 Constitution, as amended, FG’s lawyer, Labaran, urged the court to decline the bail request.
The Prosecution maintained that Kanu betrayed the previous discretion the court exercised in his favour when he jumped bail and escaped from the country.
He argued that it was owing to Kanu’s conduct that the court revoked his bail and issued a bench warrant for his arrest.
“My lord granted him bail in 2017 on health grounds, but since then, to date, no medical record was submitted to the court until he jumped bail.
“What we should be saying is contempt of court because he has flagrantly violated the orders of this court,” Labaran submitted.
However, Ozekhome, SAN, faulted FG’s lawyer for alleging that his client jumped bail.
He told the court that Kanu attended his trial regularly, until the military, in September 2017, invaded his home in an operation that led to the loss of lives.
Ozekhome insisted that it was the action of the Nigerian Army that made his client run for his life.
Besides, he argued that FG violated the fundamental rights of his client in the way he was forcefully abducted and extraordinarily renditioned back to Nigeria.
He, therefore, urged the court to allow Kanu on bail to enable him to effectively prepare his defence to the charge pending against him.
“My lord can limit him to stay in my house and I will not allow him to move around,” Ozekhome jokingly added.
Before the case was adjourned till May 18 and 26 for ruling and continuation of trial, Justice Nyako, dismissed Ozekhome’s contention that Kanu’s extra-ordinary rendition was illegal, stressing that there was a subsisting warrant from the court for the Defendant to be arrested wherever he was found.
“Rendition for the purpose of criminal prosecution is allowed. In the instant case, there is a bench warrant on the defendant, suffice it say, he is a fugitive before the court”, the judge held.
On the proscription of IPOB, Justice Nyako, held that though the matter is before the appellate court, the proscription order still subsists.
Meantime, FG had in some of the charges that were sustained by the court, alleged that Kanu had in his broadcast that was received and heard in Nigeria, issued a deadly threat that anyone who flouted his sit-at-home order, should write his/her Will.
It told the court that as a result of the threat, Banks, Schools, Markets, Shopping Malls, and Fuel Stations domiciled in the Eastern States of Nigeria, were not opened for businesses, citizens and vehicular movements in the Eastern States of Nigeria were grounded.
It alleged that Kau had on diverse dates between 2018 and 2021, made a broadcast received and heard in Nigeria, inviting members of the public to hunt and kill Nigerian security personnel and their family members, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 1 (2) (h) of the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act, 2013.
While FG, in count-8, alleged that Kanu, directed members of the IPOB “to manufacture Bombs”, it told the court in count-15 that the defendant had between the month of March and April 2015, “Imported into Nigeria and kept in Ubulisiuzor in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, a Radio Transmitter known as Tram 50L concealed in a container of used household items which you declared as used household items, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 47 (2) (a) of Criminal Code Act Cap, C45 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004”.
VANGUARD
Headline
12 Feared Dead In Kenya Light Aircraft Crash

A small plane travelling from Kenya’s coast crashed on Tuesday, according to the country’s aviation authority, with the 12 people on board feared dead.
The small plane was en route to Kichwa Tembo — a private airstrip located in the Maasai Mara National Park — from the tourist hotspot of Diani when it came down at around 5:30am local time (0230 GMT).
“The aircraft had 12 persons on board,” a statement from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) said.
It gave no further details, but said that government agencies were already on site to establish the cause of the accident.
READ ALSO:Putin Admits Russia Caused Azerbaijani Plane Crash
The Guardian reports that plane crashes are fairly common in Kenya in the last 18 months. On March 5, 2024, a mid-air collision between a Safarilink Aviation commercial flight and a 99 Flying School training aircraft occurred over the Nairobi National Park, resulting in two fatalities.
The incident took place shortly after both aircraft had departed Wilson Airport. The collision involved Safarilink Aviation Flight 053, a De Havilland Canada Dash 8 carrying 39 passengers and five crew members, and a 99 Flying School Cessna 172M.
AMREF Aircraft Crash
In August, a light aircraft belonging to the AMREF Flying Doctors crashed into a residential area in Mwihoko, Ruiru, Kiambu County, killing six people and injuring at least two others.
The aircraft, a Cessna Citation XLS (registration 5Y-FDM), had taken off from Wilson Airport and was en route to Hargeisa, Somalia, when it went down under unclear circumstances.
READ ALSO:Fire On Board Forces Lagos-Atlanta-bound Aircraft Diversion To Ghana
AMREF Flying Doctors CEO Stephen Gitau issued a statement confirming the incident. Mr Gitau noted that the aircraft departed Wilson Airport at 2.17 PM before crashing in Mwihoko. He stated that the organisation is “cooperating fully with relevant aviation authorities and emergency response teams to establish the facts surrounding the situation.”
Foreign Couple Killed in Kenyan Plane Crash, Earlier in January, a light aircraft crash killed a foreign couple aboard. The accident involved a Cessna 185 aircraft that departed from Nairobi and was en route to Mbaruk in Nakuru County. It went down in the lakeside town of Naivasha at approximately 5:14 p.m. local time (1414 GMT).
At the time, Naivasha Police Deputy Chief Charles Mwai suggested that poor visibility due to fog in the area might have been a contributing factor. Aviation experts have been called to the scene to conduct an investigation.
Headline
UK Police Arrest Asylum Seeker Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed

The UK police on Sunday arrested an Ethiopian asylum seeker and convicted sex offender, whose crimes had sparked anti-immigration protests, after he was accidentally released from prison in an embarrassing blunder by British authorities.
London’s Metropolitan Police said officers arrested Hadush Kebatu in the north of the capital on Sunday morning, nearly 48 hours after he was mistakenly freed around 30 miles (48 kilometres) away.
Kebatu, 38, had served the first month of a one-year sentence for sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a woman, but was reportedly due to be deported when the Prison Service error occurred on Friday.
His high-profile case earlier this year in Epping, northeast of London, sparked demonstrations in various English towns and cities where asylum seekers were believed to be housed, as well as counter-protests.
READ ALSO:UK Police Hunt Asylum Seeker Mistakenly Freed For Sex Offence
Commander James Conway, who oversaw the manhunt for him, said “information from the public” led officers to the Finsbury Park neighbourhood of London, where he was found.
“He was detained by police but will be returned to the custody of the Prison Service,” he added.
Kebatu is now expected to be deported.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday he was “appalled” by the “totally unacceptable” mistake that saw him freed rather than sent to an immigration detention centre.
The Telegraph newspaper said he was wrongly categorised for release on licence and handed a £76 ($101) discharge grant.
READ ALSO:Alleged Misappropriation: MFM Accuses UK Agency Of Discrimination
Police had appealed Saturday for Kebatu to turn himself in, after reports emerged that he had appeared confused and reluctant to leave the prison in Chelmsford, eastern England.
A delivery driver described seeing Kebatu return several times in a “very confused” state, only to be turned away by staff and directed to the railway station.
The driver told Sky News he saw Kebatu outside the jail, asking, “Where am I going? What am I doing?”
“He was starting to get upset, he was getting stressed,” the driver said.
READ ALSO:UK Is A Home, Not Hotel, Kemi Badenoch Tells Immigrants, Starmer’s Govt
The father of Kebatu’s anonymous teenage victim told the broadcaster that “the justice system has let us down.”
Police arrested the asylum seeker in July after he repeatedly tried to kiss a 14-year-old girl and touch her legs, and made sexually explicit comments to her.
He also sexually assaulted an adult woman, placing a hand on her thigh, when she intervened to stop his interactions with the girl.
He was staying at the time at Epping’s Bell Hotel, where scores of other asylum seekers have been accommodated, and which became the target of repeated protests.
AFP
Headline
Madagascar Revokes Ousted President’s Nationality

Madagascar’s new government has stripped ousted president Andry Rajoelina of his Malagasy nationality in a decree published Friday, 10 days after he was removed in a military takeover.
According to AFP, the decree means that Rajoelina, who was impeached on October 14 after fleeing the island nation in the wake of weeks of protests, would not be able to contest future election.
The decree published in the official gazette said Rajoelina’s Malagasy nationality was revoked because he had acquired French nationality in 2014, local media reported, as photographs of the document were shared online.
READ ALSO:Madagascar’s President Denounces ‘Coup Attempt’ As Gen Z Protests Escalate
French broadcaster RFI said it had confirmed the decree with the entourage of the new prime minister, Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo, who signed the order.
The decree cited laws stipulating that a Malagasy who voluntarily acquires a foreign nationality loses their Malagasy nationality.
Rajoelina’s French nationality caused a scandal when it was revealed ahead of the November 2023 elections, nearly 10 years after it was granted.
READ ALSO:Madagascar Passes Bill To Castrate Child R*pists
It triggered calls for him to be disqualified but he went on to win the contested polls, which were boycotted by opposition parties.
The 51-year-old politician fled Madagascar after army Colonel Michael Randrianirina said on October 11 his CAPSAT unit would refuse orders to put down the youth-led protest movement, which security forces had attempted to suppress with violence.
Rajoelina said later he was in hiding for his safety, but did not say where.
Randrianirina was sworn in as president on October 14, pledging elections within two years.
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