Nnamdi Kanu Interrupts Court Proceedings, Sacks Judge From Case

By Gideon Njoku

Detained Leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, forced the Honourable Justice Binta Nyako, to recuse herself from his trial.

Nyako has been the Judge handling Kanu’s case for years.It was her lot to handle the case from the beginning, and she was the Judge who granted Kanu bail.

However, Kanu was forced to escape from the country and back to Britain, which citizen he is, when Soldiers inexplicably invaded his Country home while he was still enjoying his bail. A couple of fatalities, including that of a family dog, was recorded.

But in 2021, the Nigerian Government broke international protocols, and brought Kanu back from Nairobi, Kenya, where he was on a visit.

His trial before Nyako resumed. But since that 2021, all efforts to grant Kanu bail again has failed, and all judgements in his favour which endorsed his release have been disobeyed, including at least one ruling which discharged him of the charges he is facing.

However, on Tuesday, September 24, a frustrated Kanu jumped up from the dock while the trial was ongoing and asked his lead Counsel, Alloy Ejimakor, to sit down and allow him to talk. Protestations did nothing to stop him, eye witness accounts said.

With the microphone in hand, Kanu addressed the Court/the Judge. He strongly expressed no confidence in the Judge and her handling of the case, and asked her to recuse herself from his trial.

Inspite of the spirited efforts made by Government’s Lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN,  to stop Justice Nyako from recusing herself from case, the Judge stood her ground.

She recused herself.

The case file will now go back to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, the Honourable Justice John Tsoho for reassignment to another Judge.

Kanu was returned to the custody of the Department of State Services, DSS, where he has been since 2021.

The fear, however, is that a new Judge is likely to start afresh with the case.