Binta Nyako, the judge in charge of Nnamdi Kanu’s treason trial, says Enyinnaya Abaribe, one of the sureties who signed Kanu’s bail bond, must produce the accused in court or forfeit the N100 million bail bond.

Abaribe, the senator representing Abia South Senatorial District at the National Assembly, is one of the three persons who stood in for Kanu when he was granted bail in April.

The bail conditions given to Kanu includes that “he must provide three sureties in the sum of N100 million each”.

The court had said: “One of the sureties must be a senior highly placed person of Igbo extraction such as a senator.

“The second surety must be a highly respected Jewish leader since Mr. Kanu said his religion is Judaism, (and) the third surety must be a highly respected person who owns landed property and is resident in Abuja.”

When trial resumed on Tuesday, Ogechi Ogunna, Abaribe’s counsel, told the court that he had filed an application requesting that his client be discharged as a surety to the accused person.

But Justice Nyako said Abaribe must choose from one of three options namely: to produce the defendant in court and then apply to be discharged as a surety; to forfeit his N100 million bail bond or to request for more time in order to produce the defendant.

Ogunna then told the court that his client was “not in a position to do any of these”, but when the presiding judge insisted, he opted to be given more time.

The other two sureties that stood in for Kanu did not appear in court on Tuesday, neither were they represented.

At a gathering in New York, USA, Abaribe had expressed fears that signing Kanu’s bail bond had put him in trouble.

“We are now in trouble, because we do not know where he is and how to contact him,” he said, adding that “those who support Kanu’s agitation should think twice”.