By Gideon Njoku
A Federal High Court in Abuja, was on Monday, November 14, told by the Counsel to the Department of State Services, DSS, Idowu Awo, that the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, refused to appear in Court for the hearing of his case.
When the case was called up, the Counsel to the Federal Government, M.B. Abubakar told the Honourable Justice Binta Nyako that the defendant was not in Court. He said he didn’t know why and that only Awo, the DSS Counsel, could explain why.
On the orders of the Honourable Court, Kanu has been in the custody of the DSS since he was forcefully brought back to Nigeria from Kenya in June 2021. But a Court of Appeal in Abuja had on October 13, declared the process through which Kanu was brought back illegal.
Explaining Kanu’s absence, Awo told the Court that the IPOB leader refused to appear in Court. He said: “When I called the office, they said the defendant declined to come to Court and all entreaties to make him come were unsuccessful.”
But, the defendant’s Counsel, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, expressed surprise, and said the defendant had always been willing to be in Court.
However, Nyako adjourned the case indefinitely pending the appeal filed by both the Government and the defendant at the Supreme Court.
The Federal Government had filed an appeal at the Supreme Court against the judgment of the Court of Appeal on October 13, which discharged and acquitted Kanu of all charges and asked that he be freed from custody and quashed any further prosecution of him.
However, the Federal Government went back to the Court and asked for a stay of execution which was granted. They also appealed to the Supreme Court against the judgment which discharged and acquitted Kanu of all offences.
Kanu’s Lawyers, led by Ozekhome have since filed a case, also, at the Supreme Court, for the immediate release of Kanu as ordered by the Court of Appeal.
It is because of the two pending cases at the Supreme Court that Nyako adjourned the case before her Court indefinitely.
