IPOB leader, Kanu must not die in custody – Fani-Kayode warns FG

Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode has warned the Federal Government not to allow leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu die in custody.

Kanu was apprehended by the Federal Government abroad and flown into the nation on Sunday to continue his trial on charges bordering on terrorism, treasonable felony, illegal possession of firearms and management of an illegal society.

He was charged at the Federal High Court, Abuja on Tuesday by the Department of State Services (DSS) before Justice Binta Nyako.

The judge ordered that Nnamdi Kanu be held in the custody of DSS until the adjournment date which is July 24, 2021.

Responding to Kanu’s arrest on Tuesday, Fani-Kayode warned the Federal Government to ensure he did not die in custody.

He said Kanu should be treated with civility, dignity and respect.

Fani-Kayode said, “It is no longer news that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has been arrested and detained.

“I advise the Federal Government to ensure that he does not die in custody and that he is treated with decency, decorum and respect.”

The IPOB leader was first charged on 23 November 2015 in an Abuja Magistrate Court for the first time for charges of “criminal conspiracy, intimidation and membership of an illegal organisation” by Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS).

The charges violate “Section 97, 97B and 397” of Nigeria’s penal code. Chief Magistrate S. Usman had, at the last adjourned date, reprimanded the Department of State Services (DSS) over its failure to produce Kanu in court on the two consecutive times the matter came up before the court.