A judge at the Federal High Court in Abuja James Omotosho, has scheduled the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to begin on March 21, 2025. Omotosho is the newly assigned judge to oversee Kanu’s case, which has now been reassigned after the former judge, Justice Binta Nyako, recused herself.
This development means that Kanu’s long-standing case, which first commenced in 2015, will start afresh under the new judge.
Kanu has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since his re-arrest in Kenya and subsequent extradition to Nigeria in 2021. He has been facing charges of treasonable felony, which have been the focal point of his trial.
In 2017, Kanu was granted bail by the court, but his bail was later revoked when he failed to appear in court as required. This led to a bench warrant for his arrest.
In April 2022, Justice Binta Nyako struck out eight of the 15 counts against Kanu. Later, the Court of Appeal quashed the remaining seven counts on October 13, 2022, ordering Kanu’s release. However, the federal government filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, which led to a stay of execution on the appeal court’s verdict on October 28, 2022.
CASE REASSIGNED
Kanu had previously requested that Justice Nyako recuse herself from his case, citing bias. In September 2024, Nyako obliged and recused herself following an oral application from Kanu’s defense team. However, two weeks later, Chief Judge John Tsoho returned the case file to Nyako, stating that Kanu’s application for recusal had to be formally presented through a motion on notice.
On February 10, 2025, Nyako adjourned Kanu’s case indefinitely, insisting that she would no longer preside over the matter after recusing herself.
On March 8, 2025, Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, confirmed receiving official notifications from the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, and Chief Judge Tsoho, informing him of the case reassignment to a new judge. The Federal High Court later issued an official statement confirming that the case would now proceed before Judge James Omotosho.
Kanu’s trial is set to restart on March 21, 2025, marking a new chapter in the long-running legal battle.
