The terrorism trial of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has been reassigned to another judge after he mounted pressure against Justice Binta Nyako who he accused of cases of corruption against her husband and son.
Penpushing reports that the special counsel to Kanu, Aloy Ejimakor, made this development known on Saturday in a statement, adding that the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Justice John Tsoho, has finally reassigned the trial.
The Special Counsel explained that he and other legal team members received a letter from the Chief Judge informing them that the case has now been reassigned to another judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Penpushing further reports that Ejimakor uploaded on his Facebook page a screenshot of the letter dated March 4, 2025, adding that the legal team equally received another letter from the Honourable Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.
The counsel disclosed that the Chief Justice of Nigeria, in the letter dated February 25, 2025, was responding to a letter which the team had written to her requesting her prompt administrative intervention on the matter.
“Consequent upon these latest developments, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu instructed the legal team to publicly convey his sincere gratitudes to the Chief Justice of Nigeria for her sound administrative discretions and the dispatch with which she responded to our request’, the lawyer said.
‘He (Kanu) also expressed his profound appreciation to members of the general public who publicly expressed their support to our righteous demands that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s case be reassigned to another Judge, as the law demands’, he stated.
Penpushing also reports that the special counsel, however, did not mention the new judge which the case was assigned to, stressing that Kanu has always been ready to face trial because he is firmly convinced of his innocence.
The special counsel explained that Kanu was compelled to insist on Nyako’s recusal because of the recent perverse events which posed potent dangers to Kanu’s right to fair and speedy hearing.
“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 hanker down to the zealous preparation of his defence’, he said.
Penpushing reports that it is recalled that the Biafra agitator has been in detention since he was repatriated to Nigeria from Kenya in June 2021 under controversial circumstances, and during the court’s hearing on September 24, 2024, he requested that Nyako recuse herself from presiding over the matter, accusing the judge of bias.
The judge subsequently announced her withdrawal from the matter, but the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, later reassigned the matter to Nyako, and since then, Kanu and his team of lawyers have repeatedly opposed Nyako from presiding over the case.
Penpushing further reports that Kanu, during the court’s last hearing on February 10, 2025, became furious when he observed that Nyako continued presiding over his case despite her initial recusal and then accused the judge of insisting on presiding over the case because of ongoing corruption cases against her husband and son.
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