The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on Friday stood down proceedings to allow Nnamdi Kanu to file the process and depose to the affidavit in his defence in the ongoing alleged terrorism offences.
Justice James Omotosho stood down the matter after the State Security Service’s lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo, applied for a standdown to allow Mr Kanu to file the document.
The development occurred shortly after the case was called, and Mr Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, alleged that the SSS officers did not allow him to file the process in his defence.
“My Lord, I don’t know how to say this. I have a process here to file, which has not been allowed for the last three days. I have the process for my defence. I don’t know if my lord will allow me to file it for my defence,” he prayed.
Mr Omotosho then sought a response from the SSS officers in court regarding why Mr Kanu had not been allowed to file the document.
“We waited for him (Mr Kanu), and he could not file the process, and we left,” said an SSS officer.
He said on Thursday that SSS received information again at the office that Mr Kanu wanted to initiate the process. He said that if the defendant wanted to file a process in court, they had a standard procedure and protocol for Mr Kanu’s movement to guarantee his safety and the safety of others around him.
He explained that a letter ought to be written by his former lawyers, who are now consultants, to the SSS management before he could be allowed.
“We only got the information from our officers who are detailed to him. So that creates a logistics problem,” he said.
Also responding, Mr Awomolo said the protocol for Mr Kanu’s movement is dictated by the court’s order.
“However, we will ask for a stand down for about an hour, my lord, to allow him to file the process,” he said.
However, Mr Kanu disagreed with the SSS officer’s submission.
“What he just narrated was not correct. When I was downstairs looking for the process on Wednesday, they (the officers) said, ‘Let us go, and you will be brought back the next day,’” Mr Kanu alleged.
Mr Kanu also claimed that he had told the SSS officers that the court officials could be allowed to bring the stamp for him to sign the affidavit, but they refused.
Mr Awomolo then said that the issues, as difficult as they seemed, could be made easier by Mr Kanu’s consultants (counsel). He said he was not aware that Mr Kanu planned to file a process.
“I was not aware of this. If they (consultants) could talk to me or the legal department at the SSS, who are their colleagues, the matter would have been resolved. They can speak to them (the legal department). They (the consultants) equally have my phone number; they can call me,” Mr Awomolo said.
The judge, who stood down the matter, ordered the officers at the court registry and the commissioner for oaths to come into the court with the stamp to attend to Mr Kanu.
“The defendant will file here while we take other matters,” the judge said.
Mr Omotosho further made an order allowing court officials to visit the SSS office with the court stamp whenever Mr Kanu is a deponent to a document.
Mr Kanu, who is expected to open his defence today, is standing trial on alleged terrorism offences.
(NAN)