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In the fresh bail application, Kanu asked the court to restore his bail which was revoked in 2017.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

The Nigerian Navy has received praise from the Civil Centre on Security and Governance (CCSG) for its achievements in thwarting crude oil theft and boosting public revenue.

Speaking on Sunday at a press conference in Abuja, Emmanuel Agabi, a member of the CCSG, praised Chief of Naval Staff Emmanuel Ogalla for exercising the kind of leadership that is leading to success in the battle against crude oil theft.

Agabi stated that the navy’s forward operating bases in the Niger Delta area have been reorganised by the chief naval staff, who has shown a “exceptional commitment” to combating oil theft.

He went on to say that the bold move to secure national assets is the deployment of 500 ballistic boats, two helicopters, and ten warships as part of a special amphibious exercise.

“The results are impressive. Nigeria recorded its highest oil production in almost two years, with crude oil production rising from 1.08 million barrels per day in July 2023 to an average of 1.38 million barrels per day in January and February 2024, representing a 300,000 bpd increase.

Furthermore, from an average of 16 LNG export shipments per month in 2023 to 21 monthly in the first quarter of 2024, Nigeria is now exporting 21 LNG.

“The reduction in oil theft and illegal refining has led to a decrease in oil spills and environmental degradation, which has a positive impact on the livelihoods of people in the region.

“We commend the Nigerian Navy for their dedication and hard work in securing our national assets and increasing government revenue.”

A disabled Nigerian man, who has resided in the UK for 38 years, is facing the prospect of being forcibly removed from the country by the Home Office, the Guardian UK reports.

Olubunmi Anthony George, who is currently 61 years old, travelled from Nigeria to the UK in 1986, when he was just 24 years old.

He has been in the UK ever since, and the Guardian reports that he has no criminal convictions on his record.

He suffered two strokes in 2019 that significantly affected his speech and movement.

George claims that none of his close family members are now living in Nigeria.

According to George, he no longer has any immediate relatives residing in Nigeria.

He is said to have faced numerous episodes of homelessness and admitted that he has lost track of the countless friends who have sheltered him over the years.

George said, “I don’t know how many different sofas I’ve slept on—too many to count. I don’t have my life, living the way I’m living now. My health problems since I had my stroke are my biggest worry. All I’m asking for is some kindness from the home office.”

George has submitted multiple applications for leave to remain in the UK, all of which have been denied by the Home Office, with the most recent rejection occurring on May 7, 2024.

In 2005, his previous solicitors submitted a falsified entry stamp in his passport, which has since been reported to the police and the legal regulatory bodies.

According to George, he was completely unaware of the passport stamp until several years later, as he revealed to the Guardian.

According to his current lawyer, Naga Kandiah of MTC Solicitors, George’s difficulties can be attributed to his poor past legal representation.

In their latest rejection, officials from the Home Office stated that the situation was not deemed to be an exceptional circumstance.

Kandiah has filed an appeal challenging the most recent denial.

Kandiah said, “My client has been living in limbo for 38 years with no family, has suffered two strokes and has no family left in Nigeria.

“His situation is not just because of Home Office policies but also because of poor representation by previous solicitors who failed to uphold professional integrity and ethical standards.”

A spokesperson for the Home Office told the Guardian that “applications have to be considered on their merits in accordance with the immigration rules, with the responsibility on applicants to demonstrate they meet these rules.”

The Guardian also covered the story of Nelson Shardey, a 74-year-old newsagent from Merseyside.

Shardey has been living in the UK since 1977 and was recently denied indefinite leave to remain by the Home Office, despite having spent the majority of his adult life in the country.