THE Chief Judge of the Federal High Court (FHC), John Tsoho, has rejected the request of the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, for Binta Nyako to recuse herself from his case.
Tsoho handed Nnamdi Kanu’s case file back to Nyako for management, noting that two other judges had earlier recused themselves from the matter.
According to Tsoho, Kanu’s case was reassigned to Nyako due to its prolonged nature as far back as 2015.
The chief judge said Nyako was considered the best judge to see the case through to its completion because she had handled it for the most part.
However, Tsoho ordered Kanu to submit a written petition on notice along with an affidavit outlining all the reasons for the recusal if he was still adamant about recusing Nyako at the case’s subsequent hearing.
According to the chief judge, Kanu must serve on the prosecution team as well and come before Nyako for assessment before she can make her decision.
Kanu’s Lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, confirmed the outcome to the media. He also mentioned that Kanu’s team was awaiting a new hearing notice and an official notice from the court.
The ICIR reported that Nyako, a judge at FHC, Abuja, stepped down as the judge handling Kanu’s trial.
Nyako announced her decision to recuse herself from Kanu’s trial at the resumed hearing on his case in Abuja on Tuesday, September 24.
The decision followed Kanu’s open-court request, where he cited the judge’s non-compliance with the Supreme Court ruling.
Kanu declared he no longer trusted the judge and challenged her to step down.
The judge agreed to recuse herself, saying she would happily return Kanu’s case file to the chief judge for reassignment.
During the proceeding, Kanu interrupted his lawyer, Alloy Ejimakor, ordering him to sit down as he attempted to argue for a trial adjournment.
The prosecution counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo, a senior advocate, however, tried to plead with Nyako to proceed with the trial, but she disagreed.
Kanu is facing a seven-count charge bothering on terrorism, brought against him by the Federal Government.
The charges against him include treason, inciting public violence through radio broadcasts, and defamation of Nigerian authorities.
Kanu’s troubles began in 2015 when he was arrested by Nigeria’s secret police, the State Security Service (SSS), in Lagos State.
He was granted bail but later fled Nigeria after his home was raided by the Nigerian military in September 2017.
In June 2021, Kanu was rearrested from Kenya and extradited to Nigeria to face trial.
The trial, which began in October 2021, has been marked by protests and sit-at-home in the South-East by his supporters.
In October 2022, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal discharged and acquitted him. A three-member panel of the court freed him.
The appellate court set aside the judgment of an Abuja Federal High Court, which ordered him to answer seven out of the 15 counts of terrorism filed against him.
Nyako had, in a judgment in April 2022, struck out eight of the 15 counts in the charge preferred against the IPOB leader.
The judge, however, held that Kanu had some questions to answer in counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, and 15 of the charge.
But Kanu, through his team of lawyers led by Mike Ozekhome, a senior advocate, filed an appeal to quash the remaining seven counts for lack of merit.
In its ruling in October 2022, the Court of Appeal agreed with Kanu’s counsel that the IPOB leader was illegally abducted and extra-ordinarily renditioned from Kenya to Nigeria, against international and local laws.
The panel led by Jummai Hanatu also held that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to handle the charges against Kanu, as he was not adequately arraigned before the court.
The Court of Appeal further held that Kanu’s alleged offences took place in Kenya and not in Nigeria. The court ordered Kanu’s release from custody.
But in a new twist, the Court of Appeal, on October 28, 2022, stayed the execution of its earlier order acquitting Kanu of all charges and directing his release from custody.
The development forced the IPOB leader to file an appeal at the Supreme Court to challenge the decision.
A reporter with the ICIR
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