In a statement issued yesterday, Alloy Ejimakor, stated that his submission was necessitated by the outbreak of public commentaries on the Abia State High Court judgment of January 19, 2022, on the fundamental rights suit he filed on which the court ruled in Kanu’s favour.
He submitted that the ruling of Justice Benson Anya of the Abia State High Court also paved the way for his previous bail to be reinstated.
Ejimakor stated that most of the public comments bordered on examining the latent impacts that the judgment might have beyond the N1 billion awarded to Kanu against the Federal Government and the order for the government to apologise to Kanu for infringing on his fundamental right by the military invasion of his Afara Ukwu home in Umuahia North Council in Abia State in 2017.
“Of particular interest is whether the judgment should directly or indirectly impact the persisting notion that Kanu had jumped bail in 2017, which was what grounded the bench warrant that was used to justify his detention.
“In summary, the verdict has created new legal opportunities for Kanu, especially as regards impeaching the bench warrant his incarceration.
“From late 2017, I had maintained that Kanu never jumped bail and that he will, in due course, prove that it was the Federal Government that compelled him to flee the country. This was the material issue before the Abia court and it prevailed,” he said.
He added that it is the view of the court that the Army set out to kill Kanu, insisting that the military invasion of his Afaraukwu Ibeku country home was such that the court could not ignore it and that Kanu deserves an apology and compensation.
“The court held that Kanu has by credible evidence proved to the court that the Federal Government threatened his fundamental rights to dignity of the human person and personal liberty.
“In other words, the court held that Kanu never made a voluntary decision to flee the country or to be absent from his trial. To this extent, the judgment has obliterated the vested and false notion that Kanu jumped bail in 2017,” he added.
