Justice John Tsoho, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, has reassigned the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to a new judge.
Kanu, who has been in detention since his bail was revoked in 2021, is facing a seven-count charge of treasonable felony brought against him by the Federal Government.
Although the Chief Judge initially rejected Kanu’s objection and instructed Justice Nyako to proceed with the case, his defence counsel, Mr. Alloy Ejimakor, revealed in a statement on Saturday that the request for her withdrawal had ultimately been granted.
Ejimakor reaffirmed Kanu’s willingness to stand trial to prove his innocence and praised Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN for her swift intervention.
He said, “Before our legal team’s routine visit to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu yesterday (Friday), we received two official letters regarding his case. These letters hold great significance, though they come with mixed emotions.”
One of the letters came from the Honourable Chief Justice of Nigeria, responding to our recent request for her swift administrative intervention.
As the administrative head of the Nigerian judiciary, we sought her assistance in ensuring the proper and lawful reassignment of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s case following the recusal of the presiding judge.”
“He also expressed his profound appreciation to members of the general public who publicly expressed their support of our righteous demands that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s case be reassigned to another judge, as the law demands.
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To be sure, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has always been ready to take his trial because he is firmly convinced of his innocence. But the perverse events of the past six months (from September 2024, when the recusal happened) posed portent dangers to his constitutional rights, particularly his right to a fair and speedy hearing.
“It was in view of these untoward developments that we were propelled to resort to taking extraordinary measures to ensure that his case is properly reassigned and conducted in accordance with the law.
“So, now that the first steps have been taken by the authorities to do the lawful thing, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and his legal team shall take stock and hunker down to the zealous preparation of his defence.”
However, Ejimakor declined to disclose the name of the new judge the case has been assigned to.
It will be recalled that Kanu was first arrested in Lagos on October 14, 2015, upon his return to the country from the United Kingdom, UK.
Justice Nyako had, on April 25, 2017, granted him bail on health grounds after he had spent about 18 months in detention.
Upon the perfection of the bail conditions, he was, on April 28, 2017, released from the Kuje prison.
However, midway into the trial, the IPOB leader escaped from the country after soldiers invaded his country home at Afara Ukwu Ibeku in Umuahia, Abia State, an operation that led to the death of some of his followers.
Kanu was later re-arrested in Kenya on June 19, 2021, and extraordinarily renditioned back to the country by security agents on June 27, 2021.
On April 8, 2022, the court dismissed eight out of the 15 charges filed against Kanu by the Federal Government, ruling that they lacked merit.
Similarly, on October 13, 2022, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal ordered Kanu’s immediate release from detention and nullified the charges against him.
However, dissatisfied with the ruling, the Federal Government appealed the decision to the Supreme Court and successfully secured a stay of execution, delaying Kanu’s release until the appeal was resolved.
On December 15, 2023, the Supreme Court overturned the appellate court’s ruling, allowing the Federal Government to proceed with Kanu’s trial on the remaining seven-count charge.
Ladi Patrick-Okwoli @BusinessDay
