Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has called for the transfer of his terrorism-related case from Abuja to a court in the South-east region of Nigeria.
According to a report by Premium Times on Thursday, this request comes after his legal team raised concerns about the continued involvement of Justice Binta Nyako in the proceedings.
Kanu, who has been in detention since his controversial repatriation from Kenya in June 2021, faces charges of terrorism, among other accusations, and his trial has been marred by claims of judicial bias.
The call for a transfer was made public by Kanu’s special counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, through a statement shared on his social media platform, X, on Wednesday.
Ejimakor stated that the IPOB leader had instructed his legal team to take all necessary steps to ensure that Justice Nyako does not continue to preside over his case.
The move follows a development during a court session on 24 September 2024, when Kanu had requested that Justice Nyako recuse herself from the trial, alleging that she had violated a Supreme Court ruling that had ordered his bail. The judge had complied, announcing her withdrawal from the case and sending the file to Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, John Tsoho.
However, despite Nyako’s recusal, Chief Judge Tsoho reassigned the case back to her, which Kanu’s legal team strongly opposed.
Ejimakor reiterated that Kanu and his team were adamant in preventing Justice Nyako from being involved in the case, citing concerns that the actions of the court were contrary to legal orders and had undermined the integrity of the proceedings.
In his statement, Ejimakor explained that Kanu, during a visitation to the State Security Service (SSS) facility, expressed his frustration with the handling of the case. The IPOB leader instructed his lawyers to ensure that the case either be reassigned to a different judge in Abuja or, if no judge in the capital was willing to preside, moved to any Federal High Court in the South-east or South-south regions of Nigeria.
Ejimakor specified that if no suitable judge could be found in Abuja, the Chief Judge should transfer the case to one of several cities in the former Eastern Nigeria, including Umuahia, Awka, Enugu, Asaba, or Port Harcourt.
Ejimakor wrote, “If no other judge in Abuja is willing to handle the case, the chief judge is free to transfer the case to Umuahia, Awka, Enugu, Asaba, Port Harcourt, or any other Federal High Court within the former Eastern Nigeria, where the alleged offenses were said to have occurred or had their impact.”
