The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday 19 March rejected the bail application by the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
Instead, the trial judge, Justice Binta Nyako, however, granted an accelerated hearing.
Counsel for the IPOB leader, Alloy Ejimakor, had at the last adjourned date asked the court to admit Kanu to bail before the commencement of the trial.
He noted that Kanu’s health condition was deteriorating, adding that his continued detention by the DSS was a threat to his life.
Ejimakor also emphasized that the continued incarceration of Kanu would deny him the chance to put up a good defence in the matter.
While noting that the DSS has a medical facility that could take care of Kanu, counsel for the Federal Government, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), however urged the court to turn down the bail application and instead grant an accelerated hearing.
He was earlier granted bail on health grounds on April 25, 2017, after spending 18 months in detention but he fled the country after an invasion of his residence by the military in September 2017.
