The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to terminate the prosecution of the leader of the pro-self determination group, the Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB), Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, and the rest of the detained members but to opt for constructive national dialogues even as the rights group carpeted the decision of the Federal High Court Abuja division to revoke the bail which it granted the IPOB leader who holds a British citizenship.

HURIWA recalled that Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja last Thursday revoked the bail granted to Mr. Nnamdi Kanu and consequently issued a bench warrant for his arrest.

HURIWA recalled that the court claimed that the order was sequel to Kanu’s continued absence to face his trial since late 2017 even as the presiding judge Justice Binta Nyako, in a bench ruling also held that the court will continue the trial of Kanu in absentia.

HURIWA recalled that the court reportedly claimed that the leader of IPOB was granted bail on April 25, 2017, on health ground, adding that the defendant had in the erroneously concluded perception of the court has failed to appear for trial since November.

Nnamdi Kanu and four others were arraigned before a Federal High Court in Abuja on a six-count criminal allegations bordering on treasonable felony in June 2016.

HURIWA, however, condemned the decision of the court to revoke the bail it granted the IPOB leader without any recourse to the circumstances that occasioned his reported disappearance.

The rights group said it was “inconceivable that a minister in the supposed temple of justice could take this far-reaching decision without even considering the fact that the person the security forces have been tasked to re-arrest was the same individual who narrowly escaped being eliminated when well-armed military forces invaded his country home and destroyed a lot of the housing assets and gruesomely and wantonly killed an undetermined number of individuals and pets/animals who were in the expansive premises in Umuahia, the Abia state capital leading to the mysterious disappearances of Nnamdi Kanu, his parents who are the custodians of the royal stool of his community and who have never been sighted till date. Those who were slaughtered during the raid, codenamed Operation Python Dance 2, have also been denied justice.”

HURIWA said “it would have been just and fair if the court had directed her anger at the heads of the security forces and President Muhammadu Buhari who ordered the crackdown of the unarmed members of IPOB, including the dastardly unprovoked violent attacks and invasions of the premises and living quarters of Mr. Nnamdi Kanu resulting in his disappearance.”

The group wondered what the court would have done if the said illegal military invasion of the living premises of a man, who is on bail on health ground, had resulted in his actual death just as the rights group said the revocation of the bail granted him demonstrated that some persons in Nigeria, maybe because of their ethnicity, religion or cultural affiliations, are treated as inferior beings because what the court of law as the temple of justice ought to do in the prevailing circumstances is to apportion appropriate blames and judicial sanctions on the authorities of the Executive arm of government, including the President who ordered the illegal attacks on the housing assets of Nnamdi Kanu who was on bail granted him by the Federal High Court.

According to HURIWA, “No one is above the law, including Mr. President, because he subscribed to a constitutional oath to obey the constitution and Section 6 of the grund norm gives the courts of competent jurisdictions the judicial powers of the federation.

“The invasion of the premises of Nnamdi Kanu, who was on bail from a court of law, amounted to a breach of the constitution. Revoking his bail because he managed to stay alive after escaping the rampage by the armed security forces, which threatened his life and killed many of his family members and organisational members, amounted to the court rewarding the military and President Buhari for their unlawful and treacherous behaviours?

“HURIWA is of the considered opinion that the decision of the Federal High Court in revoking the bail was baseless; heartless; insensitive; illegal and unlawful and should be reviewed and revoked forthwith. The revocation of the bail is discriminatory and unconstitutional.”

The rights group also urged President Buhari to end the unjust persecution of members of the totally unarmed members of IPOB whose thousands of members have been slaughtered in several unprovoked attacks by armed security forces just for staging peaceful rallies to drum up support for their advocacy for self determination, which is permitted by universal laws, including the Universal declaration of human rights and the International Covenants on civil and political rights.

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