Less than three days to the January 14 deadline given to Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe to provide Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the senator has filed a suit before the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, asking the court to relieve him as a surety to the IPOB leader.
Abaribe who is a serving senator representing Abia South Senatorial District argued that the law forbids a senator to stand surety for a suspect.
Lawyer to the senator Mr. Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume, SAN, contended that the trial Judge was wrong when she maintained in April 2017, that one of those to stand surety for the IPOB leader, must be a serving Senator.
“The honourable trial court failed and or refused to take judicial notice of the relevant provisions of the ACJA and the Nigerian constitution.
“Thus, the trial court had not done the needful under the law, otherwise, it would have found that by law, the appellant (a senator) is legally exempted from giving security for the good conduct or behaviour of a suspect.
“It is trite law that where a valid Act or law clearly states something, it is not within the powers of the court to go contrary to it.
“We can see therefore that the involvement of Senator Abaribe in the whole bail and surety quagmire was invalid from the beginning”, Abaribe’s lawyer argued.
Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja had in November 14, 2018 given Abaribe and two other sureties to the missing IPOB leader, two months to deposit N100 million bond they signed on Kanu’s behalf.
Kanu has had his trial stalled since his disappearance in September 2014 but trial Justice Nyako earlier fixed March 28 for possible continuation of the trial in Kanu’s absence.
Kanu is facing a five-count treasonable felony charge alongside the four others- Bright Chimezie, Chidiebere Onwudiwe, Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi.