SSS Asks Court To Disregard Radio Biafra Director’s Bail Application, Says He Is Sponsoring Terrorism Against Nigeria

The State Security Service (SSS) on Monday told a Federal High Court in Abuja that the founder of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and executive director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, was sponsoring terrorism against Nigeria.

Counsel to the SSS, Mosses Idakwo, therefore, prayed the court to disregard a bail application by Mr. Kanu’s counsel, Vincent Obeta, as the matter involving his client was terrorism-related.

Mr. Idakwo claimed that the SSS had evidence of bank accounts owned by the accused person where monies (both in dollars and pound sterling) were allegedly used for financing acts of terrorism against the country.

He further informed the court that Mr. Kanu had dual citizenship of Britain and Nigeria and could flee and escape justice if granted bail.

The counsel also said the bail conditions issued by the magistrate court were yet to be perfected by Mr. Kanu, whose incarceration has sparked weeks of mass protests by his followers and members of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, in several towns and cities across the South-East.

But counsel to Mr. Kanu dismissed the SSS claims on the grounds that they were speculative.

According to Obeta, Kanu had long offered to meet the financial requirement by the Abuja Geographical Information System, AGIS, for ascertaining the authenticity of the properties belonging to the surety, but that his offer was rejected by the SSS.

Mr. Obeta told the court that the SSS had on four occasions flouted the order of the magistrate court, adding that an order had since been given for his client’s release on bail.

He argued that the request by the SSS to further detain Mr. Kanu for another 90 days, as provided by Section 27 of the Terrorism Prevention Act, was a negation of his client’s right, pointing out that he had already spent the same number of days in detention.

After hearing the arguments of the two counsel regarding the bail application, the judge said he would look into the matter and fixed Thursday, December 17, to deliver ruling on Mr. Kanu’s bail.