Detained leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, yesterday, said he is ready to explore an out-of-court settlement in his alleged terrorism trial.
Kanu made this known during his trial before Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
He has been in the custody of the Department of State Service (DSS) since 2021 when he was re-arrested and brought back to continue his trial on an alleged treasonable felony.
The court had last month refused to release him from custody on the grounds that the Secret Service custody is the proper place for the defendant to be while the trial lasts.
In declining Kanu’s application, the court ordered the DSS to grant Kanu unfettered access to his lawyers and fixed June 19 for the commencement of the trial.
However, when the matter came up yesterday, his lead lawyer, Mr Ejimakor Aloy, informed the court that the secret service was yet to fully comply with the orders of the court as their visit to Kanu was still being bugged.
While stating that the defendant has resolved to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the Director General of the DSS for refusing to obey court orders directing the service to grant Kanu a “safe room” (unbugged) space for meeting with his lawyers, Aloy in addition urged the court to on its own invoke Section 17 of the Federal High Court Act, which he said, provides for “reconciliation” and facilitation of amicable settlement in criminal or civil matters.
He claimed that he had discussed the proposition with the federal government’s counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), some time ago, adding that the senior lawyer had responded by saying that the proper time for such an issue had not come.
Responding, Awomolo informed the court that he did not have his client’s instruction to negotiate with the defendant over the charge.
“I told him to go to the attorney-general of the federation (AGF), who has the power. If he is interested in negotiating, he should go there, his office is just here,” Awomolo said.
However, the trial judge observed that the court has no problem with it if the parties want to discuss negotiation and urged Kanu to approach the AGF, who is the proper person to negotiate with.
On Forms 48 and 49, seeking the imprisonment of the DSS boss for allegedly disobeying the court’s orders, Justice Nyako held that both applications were not before her, adding that the matter would be looked into when she saw the file.
Nyako, however, ordered the service to provide an “unbugged space” for Kanu to meet with his lawyers each time they were at the facility to prepare Kanu for trial.
The unbugged space, according to her, refers to a garden within the DSS premises where Kanu and his lawyers can discuss things without hearing the service operatives.
Meanwhile, Justice Nyako also dismissed Kanu’s fresh application challenging the court’s jurisdiction to entertain counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 15 as unconstitutional.
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