The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Justice John Tsoho, has reassigned the case against Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to another judge for trial.
Kanu, who has been in detention since 2021 following the revocation of his bail, faces a seven-count treasonable felony charge brought by the Federal Government. Justice Binta Nyako, who had previously overseen the case, adjourned the trial indefinitely on February 10 after Kanu insisted that she recuse herself due to claims of bias and a prior ruling that had excluded her from the matter.
Although the Chief Judge had initially dismissed Kanu’s request and directed Justice Nyako to continue with the case, Kanu’s defense counsel, Mr. Alloy Ejimakor, revealed in a statement on Saturday that the request had now been granted. Ejimakor expressed Kanu’s readiness to face trial and clear his name, while thanking the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, for her swift intervention. However, he refrained from disclosing the name of the new judge assigned to the case.
Kanu was initially arrested on October 14, 2015, upon his return to Nigeria from the United Kingdom. He was granted bail on health grounds in 2017 but later escaped the country after a military raid on his residence in Umuahia, Abia State. His escape led to the deaths of several of his followers. Kanu was re-arrested in Kenya on June 19, 2021, and extradited back to Nigeria on June 27, 2021. He has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since his return.
On April 8, 2022, the court dropped eight of the 15 charges filed against him, citing lack of substance. However, on October 13, 2022, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal ordered Kanu’s immediate release and quashed the remaining charges. The Federal Government appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which, on December 15, 2023, vacated the appellate court’s ruling, allowing the government to proceed with the trial based on the remaining seven counts.
