Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu played a major role in ensuring that Nnamdi Kanu met his bail conditions in a space of 48 hours
Ekweremadu was said to have rallied Igbos of different social strata nationwide to meet the bail conditions
There were initial concerns the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) leader might not meet the bail conditions
A report by Thisday has detailed how Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu played a major role in ensuring that Nnamdi Kanu met his bail conditions in a space of 48 hours. Ekweremadu was said to have rallied Igbos of different social strata nationwide to meet the bail conditions, as there were initial concerns the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) leader might not meet the bail conditions.
Kanu, alongside David Nwawuisi, Benjamin Madubugwu and Chidiebere Onwudiwe were arrested in October 2015 by the federal government for alleged treason.
The IPOB leader was granted bail by a court at some point, but the order was disobeyed by the federal government which moved him from his detention cell at the Department of State Services (DSS) to Kuje Prison on the outskirts of Abuja.
However, on Wednesday, April 26 Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja granted bail to Kanu under very stringent terms. The terms included three sureties, one of whom must be a serving senator, a Judaism religion leader, and a highly respected person.
All three sureties were required to own landed property in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with the sum of N100 million each. She also warned Kanu against granting press interviews, holding rallies or being in a gathering of more than 10 persons while on bail, threatening to revoke his bail if he flouted any of the conditions. She, however, denied Kanu’s other colleagues bail.
Kanu initially rejected his release on the grounds that his colleagues must be released alongside him, but he was prevailed upon by prominent Igbo leaders to accept the bail. They also advised him that he would be better off appealing the bail terms gagging him from the outside rather than in the custody of the Nigerian Prison Service (NPS).
They also promised that they would meet with Ekweremadu to reach out to other Igbo prominent leaders, businessmen, traders and professionals to raise the money in a matter of hours to meet the bail terms. Ekweremadu was said to have quickly rallied several prominent Igbos to his Abuja home for a meeting to discuss how to meet the bail conditions and get Kanu out of prison.
One of the senators of South-east extraction who was at the meeting said he was ready to bring the N100 million ordered by Justice Nyako, but was concerned about the prying eye of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which is at dagger’s drawn with the Senate and has already been accused by some senators of harassing them.
On this basis, those at the meeting decided that they would all reach out to Igbo traders and businessmen, professionals, politicians and other leaders in the country to raise the N300 million immediately.
Having agreed to the strategy, dedicated account numbers were immediately sent to several Igbos nationwide, especially those in Abuja, as they are believed to contribute up to 40 per cent FCT’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The source revealed that once word was sent out for donations, the amount needed was raised with proper accounting of who gave what for record purposes.
It was also not difficult to get a Jewish religion leader since a few Igbos consider themselves Jews and have long converted to Judaism. Interestingly, Kanu, while in detention, converted to Judaism, making it easy for a respectable Jewish religious leader to come forward and stand as surety for him.