Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), requested on Tuesday that Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja withdraw from his trial.
Kanu made this statement from the dock during the resumed proceedings regarding the seven-count terrorism charges brought against him by the Federal Government. While Kanu’s lawyer, Mr. Alloy Ejimakor, was arguing for the trial to be suspended due to his client’s lack of opportunity to prepare a defense, Kanu unexpectedly rose from his seat and instructed him to sit down.
“Sit down! I say you should sit down!” Kanu bellowed from the dock.
Continuing, he said: “My lord, I have no confidence in this court anymore and I ask you to recuse yourself because you did not abide by the decision of the Supreme Court.
“I can understand it if the DSS refuses to obey a court order, but for this court to refuse to obey an order of the Supreme Court is regrettable.
“I am asking you to recuse yourself from this case,” Kanu stated.
At this juncture, the prosecution counsel, Mr. Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, urged the court to ignore Kanu’s position, insisting that the Supreme Court directed that he should be tried on the pending seven-count charge.
“The Justices ordered this court to proceed with the hearing of the charge against the defendant. My lord, you should not recuse yourself on the basis of this mere observation which does not have anything to do with the Supreme Court. It is an incompetent observation. We urge this court to proceed with the hearing,” FG’s lawyer submitted.
Not finished, Kanu stood up once more from the dock, holding aloft a copy of what he referred to as the current judgment of the Supreme Court.
He read a portion where the apex court held that actions of the trial court in the matter “rendered the impartiality of the judge suspect.”
“But my lord, you know that I love you. It is just that this court is allowing the defence to railroad me into a trial that is at variance with every provision of the Constitution,” Kanu added.
After she had expressed her dissatisfaction with the development, Justice Nyako said she was not willing to continue with the case.
“I hereby recuse myself and remit the case file back to the Chief Judge,” she held.
The court had previously approved the Federal Government’s request to protect the identities of witnesses set to testify in the case.
It is important to note that Kanu was initially arrested in Lagos on October 14, 2015, upon returning to Nigeria from the United Kingdom.
Justice Nyako granted him bail on health grounds on April 25, 2017, after he had spent approximately 18 months in detention. Following the fulfillment of the bail conditions, he was released from Kuje prison on April 28, 2017.
However, during the trial, Kanu fled the country after soldiers raided his residence in Afara Ukwu Ibeku, Umuahia, Abia State, an operation that resulted in the deaths of some of his followers. He was later re-arrested in Kenya on June 19, 2021, and extradited back to Nigeria by security agents on June 27, 2021.
As a result, the trial court remanded him in the custody of the DSS on June 29, 2021, where he has remained to this day.
On April 8, 2022, the court dismissed eight of the 15 charges filed against him by the Federal Government, citing a lack of merit.
Additionally, on October 13, 2022, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal ordered Kanu’s immediate release from detention and quashed the charges against him.
Dissatisfied with this decision, the Federal Government appealed to the Supreme Court, requesting a suspension of the appellate court’s judgment pending the outcome of its appeal. Ultimately, on December 15, 2023, the Supreme Court overturned the appellate court’s ruling and allowed the Federal Government to proceed with the trial of Kanu on the remaining seven counts.
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