The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, has reacted after the Federal High Court, Abuja, dismissed his request for bail or to be moved from the Department of State Services custody to a prison or house arrest.
Addressing the press at the court premises after the ruling on Monday, Kanu said he can not be tried in any court in Nigeria, adding that any court that tried to try him would be committing terrorism.
According to the IPOB leader, Section 15 of the Nigeria Extradition Act prevents any court of law in the country from trying him.
He said, “Terrorism Prohibition and Prevention Act said I cannot be tried in Nigeria. That is the law of Nigeria. I can never be tried in any court of law in Nigeria. That is what the law says.
“Anyone standing in trial or coming to try me is a terrorist. That is what the law says, not me. Section 2, Subsection 3F of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, that is what it says.
“Any court continuing to try me is committing an act of terrorism.”
This, he said, was the reason his case was being delayed.
“You cannot violate a treaty that Nigeria entered into. You entered my house and then came to try me, that is not done anywhere in the world so you must be aware that that is where all these ridiculous delays is what the Supreme Court says, I did not jump bail, my home was invaded they came to kill me and I survived.
“They came to Kenya to kidnap me, brought me back to this country, and sought to try me, which the law says cannot happen.
“You cannot violate a treaty that was entered into and then hope to stand on that illegality to conduct a trial.
“It is not done anywhere in the world, and nobody has. There’s no exception, no exception whatsoever. That’s what the law says in Section 12.
“Nigeria becomes law, and it is law you cannot change. It doesn’t matter what they all do. This thing they are doing against me is just pure rubbish. You never stand not with me. I believe in justice and fairness, that’s all.”
Earlier, while delivering her ruling, Justice Nyako said she found as a fact that Kanu jumped the bail when he was earlier granted.
Nyako told the court that the sureties who stood for him in the earlier bail had applied to be discharged and had been discharged on the ground that they could not locate Kanu and did not know his whereabouts.
The judge, however, stated that the only option left for Kanu was to go to the Court of Appeal and exercise his right of appeal.