Kenyan Government Has No Record Of Nnamdi Kanu’s Departure- IPOB

Kenyan Government Has No Record Of Nnamdi Kanu’s Departure- IPOB

.Nnamdi Kanu’s court appearance cripples S-East

•Case adjourned to April 8

•My client may go blind, his sight deteriorating, Ozekhome cries out

The Kenyan government had produced a document in court to indicate that there was no immigration record of Kanu’s departure from Kenya following his arrival on May 12, 2021, according to Aloy Ejimakor, Special Counsel of the jailed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

Ejimakor spoke as the entire southeast was empty yesterday as many stayed at home in solidarity with Kanu’s court appearance, hampering commercial activity.

The Federal High Court in Abuja has set April 8 to rule on a motion filed by the jailed leader of IPOB to quash the Federal Government’s 15-count treasonable felony charge against him.

No Immigration Record Of Kanu’s Departure From Kenya —Kenyan Govt

In a joint statement, Ejimakor and Kanunta Kanu, the IPOB Leader’s brother, contended that the Kenyan government’s attitude had rendered Kanu’s “disappearance” from Kenya a more serious offense, claiming that significant penalties awaited all those involved in the activity.

The Kenyan government claimed in its most recent affidavit submitted in defense of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s lawsuit in Kenya that there was no immigration record of Kanu’s departure from Kenya after his previous entry on May 12, 2021.

The release made available to Vanguard read in part: “In the Affidavit “drawn up and filed” by the Attorney-General of Kenya and deposed to in Nairobi, Kenya on 10th February 2022, the Government of Kenya attached Kanu’s arrival and departure record from Kenya from 17th July 2019 to 12th May 2022 when he last entered Kenya.

“Paragraph 12 of the Affidavit stated “That it is evident from the schedule below that since 17/7/2019, the said Nwannekaenyi Nnamdi Kenny Okwu-Kanu has visited and departed Kenya on several occasions.

“Paragraph 13 of the Affidavit states “That from the above travel history, it is evident that his last arrival date was 12/5/2021 and there is no evidence exhibited to prove that he thereafter left the country.

“Paragraph 14 of the Affidavit stated, “That I am not privy to his (Kanu’s) arrest, detention or extradition”.

Kanu’s lawyers argued that: “It is pertinent to note that this Affidavit, having been “drawn up and filed” by the Attorney-General of Kenya is the clearest official confirmation yet from the government of Kenya that what happened to Nnamdi Kanu in Kenya amounts to crime, both in Nigeria, Kenya and under international law.

“With this latest development, Kanu’s ordeal in Kenya has turned a new corner where domestic and international criminal indictments will lie against the persons that directly or indirectly participated in this high crime. It has gone beyond extraordinary rendition.”

Kanu’s Appearance Crippled S-East

People have become accustomed to staying indoors on the day that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is scheduled to appear in court on charges brought by the federal government.

There was virtually no movement in any section of the zone yesterday, in contrast to Monday’s sit-at-home, which had progressively faded down.

Schools, marketplaces, banks, shopping malls, and private offices, as well as roadside stores, were all shuttered.

Transporters were off the road, thus there was no traffic on the Enugu-Onitsha expressway.

Some of those gathered in front of their homes were heard inquiring if anyone had heard anything about Kanu’s court case, while others discussed the Biafra agitation.

Banks, schools, marketplaces, and shops across Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo were all closed in honor of the detained Nnamdi Kanu.

Every day that Kanu was to be hauled to court, IPOB has announced a sit-at-home protest in the South East.

The cities were devoid of life, according to our correspondents who traveled throughout the zone.

In comparison to the previous year, vehicle and pedestrian movements increased by roughly 30%.

Residents entirely followed the sit-at-home order in solidarity with IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu’s court proceedings in Abuja on Wednesday.

Wethedral, Douglas, Owerri-Port-Harcourt, Owerri-Onitsha, and Owerri-Aba roads are among the streets visited by Vanguard in Owerri.

The situation was similar in the streets of Mbari, Okigwe, and Mbaise roads, as well as Tetlow, Egbu, Dick tiger, MCC/Uratta, IMSU roundabout, Akwakuma, Amakohia, Spibat, and Orji streets.

In support of the IPOB leader, banks, stores, major markets in Ekeukwu, and relief markets shut down. All schools, restaurants, entrances, stores, and gas stations were closed.

The situation in the Okigwe and Orlu axis was considerably worse, due to the high level of killings and insecurity that has been observed in these areas for about a year.

Kanu knows Fate April 8, As Court Adjourns For Ruling

Kanu claimed that the accusation against him was legally faulty in a motion filed by his team of lawyers, led by Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN.

He argued that the court lacked the jurisdiction to try him on the strength of an incompetent charge.

Ozekhome, told the court that his client was “unlawfully, brutally and extraordinarily renditioned from Kenya without his consent”.

He stated that because some of the allegations made by the FG against Kanu were allegedly committed outside of the country, the high court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.

“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 claimed that under the Federal High Court Act, such a charge must specify the location where the crime was committed.

Furthermore, Ozekhome argued that Kanu could not be charged with being a member of an illegal organization because the FG’s action in outlawing the IPOB is currently being litigated in the Court of Appeal and is thus pending.

As a result, Ozekhome requested that the charge be dismissed, as well as the Defendant be discharged and acquitted of the whole 15-count accusation 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

Mr. Shuaibu Labaran, FG’s counsel, requested that the court dismiss Kanu’s application and force the prosecution to present its case.

He contended that the application would interfere with the content of the matter, which was still pending.

The position as at now is that the IPOB is a proscribed organization which was duly proscribed through the due process of law”.

He claimed that Section 32 of the Terrorism Prevention Act gave the court the necessary authority to hear the case.

 

Meanwhile, earlier in the hearings, Ozekhome, SAN, expressed concern that his client’s vision had deteriorated.

He told the court that Kanu, who is currently in the custody of the Department of State Services, DSS, could go blind if nothing was done to restore his sight as soon as possible.

Kanu’s eyewear was confiscated in 2015, when he was first arrested by DSS operatives following his return to Nigeria from the United Kingdom, according to the prominent lawyer who just took over Kanu’s defense team.

He told the court that during his exceptional rendition from Kenya, a new eyeglass purchased by the IPOB leader was also taken.

Despite an express court order, the DSS refused to allow the IPOB to change their clothes, according to Ozekhome.

He claimed that the security agency refused to let Kanu wear new clothes that his younger brother, Emmanuel, had brought him.

Read More: Nnamdi Kanu News Today: See Full List Of Charges Pressed Against Nnamdi Kanu

Justice Nyako asked the Director of Legal Services at the DSS to explain why Kanu was denied access to new clothes and spectacles shortly before the case was adjourned.

The clothing were rejected, the DSS employee revealed to the court, because they featured an insignia linked with the IPOB.

He told the court that the garments supplied for Kanu in jail were branded with the Lion’s Head.

Vanguard