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High Court Rejects Nnamdi Kanu’s Plea For Bail, House Arrest

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The leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, had another bail application denied by a federal high court in Abuja.

The presiding judge, Binta Nyako, also rejected Kanu’s request to be moved from the Department of States Services (DSS) to a correctional facility.

Additionally, the defendant’s plea to be put under house arrest was denied.

The federal government has proposed a seven-count indictment against Kanu that borders on treasonable felony.

Kanu is currently facing trial on this charge.

Remember how the court granted Kanu bail in 2017 despite the federal government’s treasonable felony accusations against him?

However, the court revoked Kanu’s bail and issued a bench warrant for his arrest after he failed to present himself as required.

The IPOB leader was rearrested in Kenya in 2021 and extradited to Nigeria, after being on the run for a few years.

In April 2022, Nyako struck out eight of the 15 counts in the charge.

The remaining seven counts were also quashed by the court of appeal on October 13, 2022, with the judge ordering Kanu’s release.

However, on October 28, 2022, the court of appeal granted a stay of execution on its verdict discharging Kanu, after the federal government filed an appeal at the supreme court.

On December 15, 2023, a five-member panel of the apex court reversed the verdict of the appeal court and ordered Kanu to resume his trial before the federal high court.

  • Bail Application

In the fresh bail application, Kanu asked the court to restore his bail which was revoked in 2017.

In the alternative, he asked to be removed from the custody of the DSS and placed under house arrest, or to be remanded in prison.

The defendant said contrary to the federal government’s claim, he did not jump bail or breach any of the conditions of the 2017 bail, but had to flee the country when soldiers allegedly invaded his house in Abia.

He told the court that he would have been killed if he had not escaped the way he did, and accused the federal government of misleading the court in getting the bail revoked.

He also asked the court to set aside the arrest warrant issued against him by the court while he was out of the country.

He also alleged that he does not get proper medical services in DSS custody and he is unable to properly prepare for his defence due to restricted access to his lawyers.

Delivering the ruling, Nyako refused the application of the defendant.

She noted that those who stood surety for the defendant in 2017 had approached the court and applied to be discharged after Kanu escaped from the country.

She held that the sureties, in their applications, claimed that they were not aware of the whereabouts of the defendant, a scenario that forced the court to order the forfeiture of their N100 million bail bonds.

According to the trial court, the issue is currently pending before the court of appeal.

The court held that having refused Kanu’s request for bail on several occasions, the only option available to him was to take the matter before the appellate court.

However, the judge ordered the DSS to always grant Kanu access to his lawyers not exceeding five persons on every visiting day.

It ordered that Kanu must be given “a clean place” to consult with his lawyers at the DSS detention facility, adding that he must be granted access to a doctor of his choice.

Nyako warned that any attempt by Kanu’s legal team to file similar applications before the court would be regarded as a gross abuse of the judicial process.

“You have an option of appeal, please exercise your right of appeal,” the trial judge added.

BIG STORY

UPDATE: Kidnappers Of Fouani Company MD, Three Lebanese Demand $1.5m Ransom

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The kidnappers of the Managing Director of Fouani Company, who represents LG and Hisense, and three Lebanese nationals, have demanded a ransom of $1.5 million.

According to a source under anonymity, the kidnappers made contact with the family of the victims and demanded the ransom in exchange for their safe release.

It was earlier reported that the victims were abducted around Falomo Bridge while traveling from Apapa to Victoria Island.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the abduction saying, “Yes, it is true. We got the report and we are looking into it. Please, I’m not obliged to state more than that,” he simply said.

 

More to come…

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iPhone User Sues Apple for £5m After Wife Found Out His Infidelity Despite Deleted Messages

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A British citizen is suing Apple for £5 million, alleging that the company’s silence on messages that have been removed caused his spouse to find out he was unfaithful and file for divorce.

According to The Times, the middle-aged English guy, who wishes to remain anonymous, reportedly erased messages he sent to sex workers on his iPhone, but the family’s iMac computer retained them.

He admitted to The Times that he had become a prostitute during the last years of his marriage and that he would communicate them using the iPhone’s iMessage programme before deleting the messages.

But finally, his wife found the messages on the family’s iMac computer, along with some older ones he thought he had erased.

He told the Times newspaper, “If you are told a message is deleted, you are entitled to believe it’s deleted.

“It’s all quite painful and quite raw still. It was a very brutal way of finding out [for my wife].

“My thoughts are if I had been able to talk to her rationally and she had not had such a brutal realisation of it, I might still be married.”

He argued that Apple’s messaging system is misleading, as it implies that deleted messages are permanently erased, when in fact they can still be retrieved on other linked devices.

He added: “Divorce is an extraordinarily stressful process and you have children and family dynamics.

“In my opinion it’s all because Apple told me my messages were deleted when they weren’t.

“If the message had said, ‘These messages are deleted on this device’, that would have been a clue, or ‘These messages are deleted on this device only’ that would have been even better.”

He is now pursuing legal action against the company for the more than £5 million he lost in his divorce and legal costs, claiming the company does not make it clear to customers that deleted messages can appear on other Apple devices.

The lawyer, Simon Walton, from London law firm Rosenblatt which is representing the businessman in a statement said that “Apple had not been clear with users as to what happens to messages they send and receive and, importantly, delete.

“In many cases, the iPhone informs the user that messages have been deleted but, as we have seen, that isn’t true and is misleading because they are still found on other linked devices — something Apple doesn’t tell its users,” he said.

“I would be eager to hear from other Apple customers who have experienced similar issues,” he added.

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BREAKING: Finidi George Reportedly Quits As Super Eagles Coach

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Finidi George has reportedly quit as coach of the Super Eagles.

This followed the decision of the NFF to appoint a foreign coach to boss him after the national team failed to win 2026 World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin.

The 53-year-old coach was appointed new Super Eagles coach in May to succeed the Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro, who left the post after his contract ended in February.

He was an assistant to Peseiro for 20 months.

His demotion meant his year’s contract will be downgraded and his reported monthly salary of 15 Million Naira will be reviewed downwards to five Million Naira.

His handpicked assistants, who he worked with for the recent games against South Africa and Benin, would also not be part of the team as the new foreign coach will come with his own staff.

This past week in a meeting with Sports Minister John Enoh, Finidi said he did not enjoy the support of his employers the NFF.

He also faulted the commitment of the country’s top stars for the crucial World Cup qualifiers this month.

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