Drama ensued at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday morning as Aloy Ejimakor, the lawyer to Nnamdi Kanu, told judge Binta Nyako to recuse herself from the trial.
Mr Ejimakor said the request for her to quit the case again came from his client, who is the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group agitating for the secession of South-east states and parts of some neighbouring states as a sovereign Biafra nation.
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Nnamdi Kanu, who has been in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS) since 2021, is standing trial before Mrs Nyako on charges of terrorism and treasonable felony arising from his separatist activists as a pro-Biafra agitator.
He arrived at the court premises in company with SSS operatives at about 8:30 a.m. on Monday.
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Mr Kanu’s trial was earlier stalled after Mrs Nyako recused herself from the case following the IPOB leader’s oral application on 24 September 2024.
The IPOB leader broke into a conversation between the bar and the bench during the court session to tell the judge to withdraw from the case. He said he no longer had confidence in her handling of his trial.
However, John Tsoho, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, returned the file to Mrs Nyako on the grounds that Nnamdi Kanu’s application must be brought formally before the court through a motion on notice.
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Consequently, in a letter dated 5 December 2024, addressed to the Deputy Chief Registrar; the prosecution led by Adegboyega Awomolo asked the court to fix a date for the commencement of the trial.
Opposing the request for a trial date, the defence counsel, Mr Ejimakor, in a letter dated 9 December 2024, said the ruling of the judge recusing herself remained valid.
Mr Ejimakor further asked that the case be transferred to a division of the Federal High Court in the Igbo-dominated South-east region of the country if no judge in Abuja is willing to preside over it.
Nnamdi Kanu at Monday hearing
At the resumed hearing on Monday, the prosecuting counsel led by Mr Awomolo, told the judge was ready for the commencement of trial as his witnesses were ready.
However, Mr Ejimakor said his client, Nnamdi Kanu, has made a choice to not stand trial before Mrs Nyako.
“The defendant is still asking that your lordship recuse herself from this matter,” Ejimakor told the court.
In response, the judge said “the Chief Judge had not accepted the recusal and had referred the case back” to her for trial.
She asked the defence team led by Mr Ejimakor to send a written application if they still insist on the recusal.
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