By Onyinyechi Amakaulo
After months in detention in the DSS facility in Abuja, leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) Mazi Nnamdi Kanu appeared in court yesterday without handcuff.
Recall that in the first day he appeared in court after he was captured abroad, Nnamdi Kanu was in handcuff at the court premises.
But Trumpeta noticed on Thursday that he was in court like a free man without the handcuff. He was spotted in photo shows with his lawyers without the handcuff.
Meanwhile, the Leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu on Thursday pleaded not guilty to the charges of treason and terrorism preferred against him at the Federal High Court Abuja.
Kanu took his plea at the re-arraignment before Justice Binta Nyako after delayed and postponed plans to bring him to court, and said he was not guilty of any of the seven amended counts filed against him.
Kanu was intercepted in Kenya and brought back to Nigeria at the end of June and eventually brought to court today.
At the hearing, his lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor applied to the court to transfer his client to the Kuje correctional facility instead of the custody of the DSS where he has been detained without access to his family and even lawyers.
But the court did not give ruling on that pending the next hearing of the matter.
Outside the court, Ejiofor told journalists that he was not pleased with the way Kanu was arraignment which he said wasn’t open as journalists were totally banned from the courtroom.
He complained also that even his teams of lawyers were stopped from accessing the courtroom and only him allowed to be there.
He cautioned the Nigerian government to make sure that Kanu’s trial is made open to the whole world to see and should not be a clandestine affair.
He further asked that the federal government should not be allowed in law to benefit from its wrong as Kanu was illegally abducted from Kenya and forced back to Nigeria for trial.
Before the short court proceedings today, one of his lawyers, Aloy Ejimakor had complained bitterly outside the courtroom that he would not accept to go into the court alone as the rest of the lawyers in Kanu’s team were barred from the trial.
He said the approach was not acceptable in the delivery of justice and doubted if the FG had plans to make the process credible.
Many Igbo leaders, lawyers, politicians were stopped from getting into the court to witness the trial.
Some of them included Dr. Emeka Ezeife, former governor of Anambra State, Eze Nd’Igbo Abuja, Eze Gibson Nwosu, Senator Ifeanyi Uba of Anambra State who had applied to see him.
The sit-at-home order issued by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) recorded hundred percent success in the South East, especially in Imo State.
Our reporter observed that the citizens of the state obeyed the order and remained indoors as directed by IPOB leaders.
The sit-at-home was observed on Thursday 21st of October 2021 to show solidarity to IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu who was detained in the DSS custody for more than two months now.
Here in Imo State, schools were shutdown including government offices and banks. The commercial banks in Imo State closed their offices. There was no movement along the major roads in local government headquarters and major roads in Owerri, the capital city of Imo State.
We gathered that many Igbos were in their various houses praying for Nnamdi Kanu and his family.
