THE Chief Judge of the Federal High Court (FHC), John Tsoho, has finally reassigned the case of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, to another judge.
This was disclosed in a statement on Saturday, March 8, by Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, on behalf of his team.
According to the statement, Kanu is ready to face trial because he’s convinced of his innocence.
Ejimakor stated that on Friday, March 7, before the legal team conducted their routine visitation to Kanu, they received two separate official letters regarding his case. He described the letters as “momentous and somewhat pyrrhic.”
According to him, the first letter was from the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Kudirat Kekere – Ekun who responded to the team’s request for her administrative intervention in reassigning Kanu’s case after the previous judge recused.
The second letter was from the Chief Judge of the FHC, informing the team that Kanu’s case had been reassigned to another judge.
He also disclosed Kanu’s instruction to his legal team to appreciate the CJN for her prompt response and to the public for their support in demanding a lawful reassignment of his case.
“It was given these untoward developments that we were propelled to resort to taking extraordinary measures to ensure that his case is properly reassigned and conducted by the law,” Ejimakor stated.
He added that since the first steps have been taken by the authorities to do the ‘lawful’ thing, Kanu and his legal team shall take stock and prepare his defense.
The ICIR reported that at the last hearing of the case, a judge of the FHC in Abuja, Binta Nyako, adjourned the trial of Kanu indefinitely.
Nyako adjourned the suit on Monday, February 10, following Kanu’s insistence that the judge could not preside over his case since she had recused herself.
Kanu challenged Nyako to take a definitive stance regarding his detention, specifically requesting that she either restores his bail conditions or directs his release from custody.
Kanu stressed that Nyako lacked the jurisdiction to review or revisit his case, owing to her prior recusal from the case.
Nyako had initially recused herself from Kanu’s trial on September 24, 2024, in response to a request from the defendant, who had expressed a lack of confidence in her ability to preside over the case impartially.
Following her recusal, the case file was returned to the Chief Judge of the FHC, Tsoho, for reassignment.
However, in a subsequent development, the case file was returned to Nyako, who has since been asked to continue the trial.
The ICIR reported that Nyako stepped down as the judge handling Kanu’s trial when Kanu declared he no longer trusted the judge and challenged her to step down.
Kanu is facing a seven-count charge concerning terrorism, brought against him by the Nigerian 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 and 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 in Kenya and extradited to Nigeria to face trial.
His trial, which began in October 2021, has been marked by protests and sit-at-home in the South-East by his supporters.
A reporter with the ICIR
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