By Ochereome Nnanna
The excesses of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous
Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, needed to be put in check, no doubt.
But I think the Army totally mismanaged it and put those who signed his
sureties at risk. In April this year, Justice Binta Murtala Nyako of the Abuja
High Court brought relief to the tensed atmosphere wrought by the continued
illegal detention of Kanu and granted him bail on rather draconian conditions.
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| *Nnamdi Kanu |
Apart from being barred from granting interviews, addressing
rallies and being in a group of more than ten people at any time, he was
required to procure three sureties for the sum of N100 million each, one of
whom must be a Jewish religious leader (Kanu being a self-acclaimed adherent of
the Jewish religion).
Contrary to expectations, the sureties stepped forward. One
of them was a notable politician, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who represents
Abia South Senatorial Zone which covers Aba
Apart from possible political opportunism, I understood
Abaribe’s readiness to accept the risky challenge of standing surety for Kanu.
He must have felt duty-bound to obey his constituents’ wishes. I think Abaribe
was also convinced Kanu would not jump bail. Yes indeed, Kanu violated all the
conditions attached to his bail, except the one that concerned Abaribe and the
other sureties: jumping bail.
