TheCable

Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), says the bench warrant issued against him is “merely academic.”

Kanu, who is facing trial alongside other Biafran activists for alleged treason, had gone into hiding months after his bail only to reappear in Israel after one year.

Following his continued absence in court, Binta Nyako, the judge who granted him bail, revoked it  and issued a bench warrant against him.

But speaking during a broadcast on Radio Biafra, a recording of which was obtained by TheCable, Kanu said the warrant cannot stand outside the shores of Nigeria.

“In March last year, a continental human rights court restrained the Nigerian government from further persecution of members of IPOB, including my humble self. Till date, Nigerian government is yet to obey that Order,” he said.

“The bench warrant against me is merely academic. It will surely be ignored by an international legal and diplomatic order that has voiced its disapproval of what is happening to IPOB in Nigeria.

“Self determination is not a crime but a right guaranteed under chapter A9, Laws of Federation of Nigeria, 2004. So, what is Justice Binta Nyako seeking my arrest and trial for unless she has no intention of obeying the Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which gives me the right to openly agitate for Biafra?

“I remain eternally grateful to my Sureties for standing by me all through my travails, trials and tribulations. It therefore smacks of judicial persecution for the judge to claim that my Sureties have withdrawn their suretyship.”

Kanu also claimed he still has massive following in Nigeria and his followers still dedicated to the cause of a sovereign state of Biafra.

He said: “Create as many fake Facebook accounts as possible, issue misleading press statements as much as you like, one thing is guaranteed, unless you mention Nnamdi Kanu and/or IPOB nobody will read your junk.

“That is the level of stranglehold we have over you. Unless you mention my name, you are nobody. If you like try, let’s see.”