By Joseph Erunke
ABUJA-HUMAN rights crusader and constitutional lawyer, Chief Mike Ozhekome, yesterday, carpeted Justice Binta Nyako,over her Tuesday’s bail condition on leader of the Indigenous people of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.

This was even as he hailed the judge for her action, saying it was a demonstration of rare courage by the judiciary against the executive overbearing influence. Ozhekome ,who said bail conditions were simply to ensure attendance of a person in court,noted that any bail condition that becomes excessive or punitive, loses its purpose, function and goal. To this end, he urged lawyers to the IPOB leader to immediately file application before the same trial judge, Justice Binta Nyako, for variation of the bail terms to more favourable ones. In a statement he released last night, Ozhekome noted that such application ”ll make Kanu a human being once more.” ”Bail conditions are simply to ensure the attendance of a person in court, and nothing more.
Once excessive or punitive, bail loses its purpose, function and goal. ”I urge Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyers to immediately file an application before the same Justice Binta, for variation of the bail terms to more favourable ones, that will make Kanu a human being once more,”he insisted. ”I urge the Nigerian judiciary to stand up “gidigba”, to defend the rights of all Nigerians against executive lawlessness, judicial timidity and legislative rascality. God bless Nigeria and Nigerians,”he further said.

The full text of the statement which he captioned ”Nnamdi Kanu’s travail:A bare bail devoid of liberty”,read thu: ” I congratulate Justice Binta Nyako for being courageous enough to even grant bail at all to IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, on health grounds. ”This is predicated on the truism that the Judiciary has been so humiliated, browbeaten, terrorized and emasculated by the Executive, that it takes extraordinary courage and daring bravado, for a Judge to even grant bail to a much vilified Nnamdi Kanu, whose only “crime” is that he seeks self determination for his repressed, oppressed, suppressed and marginalized indigenous people of Biafra, a right recognized even by the UNO and AU in all self – determination instruments. ”

The catch here however, is that in granting the bail, the Judge, apparently trying to tread softly, took back with the right hand what she gave with the left hand. ” Bail is a constitutional right. It is guaranteed by section 35(5) of the 1999 Constitution, with or without conditions attached.
But any conditions so attached to bail must be such that the grant of bail is itself not rendered meaningless and impotent as in the Nnamdi case. Kanu’s bail conditions are outrightly stringent, punitive, discriminatory, profiling and stereotyping. Hear them: ”He must produce 3 sureties, who must deposit the sum of 100m each (a ready recipe for corruption). ”One of the sureties must be a highly respected Jewish leader since Kanu practices Judaism as his religion (discrimination on the basis of religion). Produce a highly placed person of Igbo extraction (discrimination on the basis of place of origin and ethnic group). ”Produce a respected person who resides and owns landed property in Abuja (a call for the elitist money bags). Must not attend any rally or grant an interview (breach of freedom of movement and speech). ”Must not be in a crowd exceeding 10 persons (denial of freedom of Association). Must surrender his Nigerian and British passports (denial of freedom of movement). Must sign an undertaking to be available for trial at all times (normal. This is the main purpose of bail). ”His wedding ring and reading glasses to be given back to him (thank God for tokenism). Must provide monthly update on Kanu’s health (yes, to ensure his health is improving). ”Some of the bail conditions are not only troubling, unsetting and punitive, but are simply unconstitutional, as briefly highlighted above.”[/b]

Section 42(1) of the 1999 Constitution provides that “a citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a person:- ”

(a) be subjected either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any executive or administrative action of the government, to disabilities or restrictions to which citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions are not made subject to; or ”

(b) be accorded either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any such executive or administrative action, any privilege or advantage that is not accorded to citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions. ”

(2) No citizen of Nigeria shall be subjected to any disability or deprivation merely by reason of the circumstances of his birth. ”It is crystal clear from these constitutional provisions that the stringent bail conditions granted to Nnamdi have clearly discriminated against him and subjected him to “certain disabilities or restriction” on the basis of his religion, place of birth, political opinion and ethnic group. ”What the bail conditions are simply saying is that it will be illegal, forbidden and contrary to the bail conditions were Kanu to do the following: ”

(a) Kanu cannot be received by a multitude of his village people, kindred and kinsmen, who have missed his presence since his mindless incarceration over one and half years ago, contrary to the right to freedom of Association granted by section 40 of the 1999 Constitution. ”

(b) That Kanu cannot express his right to freedom of expression clearly guaranteed by section 39 of the Constitution. ”

(c) That Kanu cannot exercise his freedom of movement guaranteed by section 41 of the Constitution. ”

(d) That Kanu cannot receive sympathizers, well wishers and political Associates, once they are more than 10. ”

(e) That Kanu cannot freely exercise, without being monitored, his freedom of religion and conscience contrary to section 38 of the Nigerian Constitution. ”

(f) That Kanu cannot, at any given time, even in his household or larger family setting, host more than 10 people (ludicrous; unnatural!). ”

(g) That Kanu cannot even visit any hospital to take care of his health, because the hospital staff of Doctors, nurses, para-medical staff and other patients, must surely exceed 10 (contrary to section 17(3)(c) of the Constitution. ”

(h) That Kanu cannot attend church service or the synagogue worship to glorify God in thanksgiving for his release, since such place of worship will harbour hundreds if not thousands, of people (contrary to section 10 and 38 of the Constitution). ”

(i) That Kanu cannot even go to a busy motor park, airport, seaport, Parks and Gardens, Cinema hall, theatre, to transport himself, watch films or relax, or even go to Shoprite to shop. ”

(j) That Kanu cannot deliver lectures to students, or groups, or participate in seminars, workshops, summits, conferences, etc., as these involve many people. ”

(k) That by way of summary, Kanu should remain a hermit, marooned like Robinson Crusoe in the 1719 novel of the same name, by Daniel Defoe, who spent over 28 years as a castaway, after he was washed up on the shores of a deserted island, near the mouth of Oronoco River in South America. ”Day by day, we subject the Nigerian society to bottomless ridicule and derision in the comity of Nations.”

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/04/ozhekome-flays-kanus-bail-condition-urges-lawyers-file-variation-appeal/

Lalasticlala

I see

Plenty English.

For some one charged for treason and allowed to go home on health ground.

The conditions are not strict.

But as usual the PDP lawyer will write plenty English as long as it is against the Govt prosecuting his arm robber clients.

This guy is a confusionist.
On second thought, the guy makes a whole lot of sense. What the bail conditions are actually saying is, we are changing your prison arrest to house arrest. But then I guess his lawyers did not raise objections because it took a whole lot of guts for the judge to even grant bail in the first place, giving the political forces behind his incarceration. They were just glad he was leaving the prison and any little objection might have jeopardized that.

This Mike Ozekhome is
intelligent

I thought the lousy dilector boasted to meet the bail terms in 24hrs, forming VIP.

Igbos and chest beating.

As a matter of fact, the bail terms are too lenient for a notorious criminal of Kanu degree.

This is super story

IamaNigerianGuy:


People like you are an example of what a recidivist mind looks like.
You take delight in coming online to please your paymasters,denying the twinges of your conscience and the remonstrations of common sense.

I am not Ibo, but is Kanu not right in opposing this useless non functional contraption called Nigeria?

If he is accused of treason he is in good company. Mandela, Rawlings, Awolowo, Samora Machel were all once accused of treason. History has vindicated them and forgotten their accusers.

Nigeria is a country without power, security, education, healthcare, rule of law or even a visible active president. Is that worthy of being called a country?

If the deranged misguided judge was doing her duty would she ask for a rabbi to stand surety for Kanu ? If tomorrow I take up Shintoism in Japan and subsequently require bail for an offense in Nigeria, should I then be required to produce a Shinto priest?
Are traditional worshipers required to produce babalawo's as part of their bail conditions?

If the so called Judge does not wish to grant him bail, she should say so and stop playing games.

You on the other hand should apply common sense in your posts.

Besides, keep in mind that being a paid apologist for a section of the political class is not a profession

Cry me river.

Treasonable felony is treasonable felony.

No amount of colored crap can change it.

And guess what ?

I don't care about where u are from.

Listen to audios they will play as evidence against him and come back and paint this nonsense yellow.

Kids like you think Biafra separating is the only issue at hand.

Nigeria Delta will go

Middle belt will go

South West will go

And have u seen where people separate without shedding of blood ?

Go and read about how many people died in the civil war and guess what ?

They failed despite being much more organised than this riff raff movement.

My question still remains; what were liepods jubilating over on the day cownu was granted bail?

Is it that they didn't understand the bail conditions?

Liepods are the worst illiterates I have ever seen.

LionDeLeo:
My question still remains; what were liepods jubilating over on the day cownu was granted bail?

Is it that they didn't understand the bail conditions?

Liepods are the worst illiterates I have ever seen.

They are majorly dumb chest beaters.

The civilised among them knows things cnt be done this way.

The support is just the opposition against Buhari and his Govt.

AntiWailer:


Cry me river.

Treasonable felony is treasonable felony.

No amount of colored crap can change it.

And guess what ?

I don't care about where u are from.

Listen to audios they will play as evidence against him and come back and paint this nonsense yellow.

Kids like you think Biafra separating is the only issue at hand.

Nigeria Delta will go

Middle belt will go

South West will go

And have u seen where people separate without shedding of blood ?

Go and read about how many people died in the civil war and guess what ?

They failed despite being much more organised that this riff raff movement.

It is not treason to oppose tyranny.

AntiWailer:


They are majorly dumb chest beaters.

The civilised among them knows things cnt be done this way.

The support is just the opposition against Buhari and his Govt.

You mean, the no 2 case here?

IamaNigerianGuy:


It is not treason to fight tyranny.

What exactly is tyranny ?

May be u need to read up.

Having a Govt u lost to during election does not make him a tyrrant.

Move on. Election is over dude.

If you are reasonable. List what Buhari did that is out of order and I will tell you Jonathan did worst with proofs.

-Speaker House of Rep was denied entrance during Jonathan's era.

- Journalists were beaten with camera broken.

- Newspaper was siezed.

- A sitting Governor was not allowed to move around


Now Who is the tyrant ?

I thought I was the only one who thought the bail conditions were quite discriminatory

AntiWailer:


What exactly is tyranny ?

May be u need to read up.

Having a Govt u lost to during election does not make him a tyrrant.

Move on. Election is over dude.

If you are reasonable. List what Buhari did that is out of order and I will tell you Jonathan did worst with proofs.

Stop ranting. None of your posts make sense.
I voted for Buhari (and regret it).
The issue at hand is Kanu and the bail conditions not the 2015 elections. We will correct that mistake in 2 years time

Justice must prevail. God bless all lovers of freedom.

[s]

AntiWailer:


Cry me river.

Treasonable felony is treasonable felony.

No amount of colored crap can change it.

And guess what ?

I don't care about where u are from.

Listen to audios they will play as evidence against him and come back and paint this nonsense yellow.

Kids like you think Biafra separating is the only issue at hand.

Nigeria Delta will go

Middle belt will go

South West will go

And have u seen where people separate without shedding of blood ?

Go and read about how many people died in the civil war and guess what ?

They failed despite being much more organised that this riff raff movement.

[/s]

IamaNigerianGuy:


Stop ranting. None of your posts make sense.
I voted for Buhari (and regret it).
The issue at hand is Kanu and the bail conditions not the 2015 elections. We will correct that mistake in 2 years time

Yes my post does not make sense to kids and I am not experienced at explaining stuffs to Kindergartens.

Kids in their mind and not necessarily age.

Nice analysis.

I keep saying that whoever gave those bail conditions must have gotten tired of thousands of Biafrans coming to the premises of the court and at that just wanted to transfer him from Kuje to another house arrest, that is exactly why they shifted it to ending of July for another hearing on the case, it must be stupid for them to look how many fly the flag in Abuja, and the number kept on increasing at each court day.

All the same, it shows that just like Pharaoh, that even heart of stone can change a little bit.

[s]

IamaNigerianGuy:


Stop ranting. None of your posts make sense.
I voted for Buhari (and regret it).
The issue at hand is Kanu and the bail conditions not the 2015 elections. We will correct that mistake in 2 years time

[/s]

This has become their trade marks "I voted Buhari but bla bla bla"

We that voted Buhari are not complaining.

He took over a country already heading for the rocks and we are fully aware of that.

-I was actually discussing those ridiculous "bail" conditions with some folks earlier today. And they couldn't believe that so much discrimination could still exist within a country and Africa.

-The Hausa-Fulani oligarchy are really setting Nigeria and indeed West Africa up for something very sinister.

-But Biafrans must remain strong and resolute. At the end, Justice shall prevail and the enemies will fall on their sword.
It's a shame we're surrounded by cowards as they abound all over sub-Saharan Africa.

IamaNigerianGuy:


It is not treason to fight tyranny.

They keep changing the situation every second.

First, "we have been agitating for biafura even b4 Buhari"


Now, "fighting against tyranny is not treason".

Which tyranny exactly?

A government that had not settled down when one deranged albino called out his gullible illiterates to take up arms against even the law enforcement agencies.

[s]

LionDeLeo:


They keep changing the situation every second.

First, "we have been agitating for biafura even b4 Buhari"


Now, "fighting against tyranny is not treason".

Which tyranny exactly?

A government that had not settled down when one deranged albino called out his gullible illiterates to take up arms against even the law enforcement agencies.

[/s]

These people already contributed for his release

AntiWailer:


Cry me river.

Treasonable felony is treasonable felony.

No amount of colored crap can change it.

And guess what ?

I don't care about where u are from.

Listen to audios they will play as evidence against him and come back and paint this nonsense yellow.

Kids like you think Biafra separating is the only issue at hand.

Nigeria Delta will go

Middle belt will go

South West will go

And have u seen where people separate without shedding of blood ?

Go and read about how many people died in the civil war and guess what ?

They failed despite being much more organised that this riff raff movement.

That guy just reduced you to a toddler with a fine print schooling

LionDeLeo:
[s][/s]

This has become their trade marks "I voted Buhari but bla bla bla"

We that voted Buhari are not complaining.

He took over a country already heading for the rocks and we are fully aware of that.

Rilwayne01 was more vocal than you and today he can't wait to vote him out. Ask of beremx also because when airtel free basics boys like you come here to type trash i just laugh

totally agree with ozhekome.