Justice Nyako Withdraws From Nnamdi Kanu’s Trial
By Our Correspondent
Justice Binta Nyako of the the Federal High Court in Abuja has withdrawn from the treason trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
This is coming after Kanu, in the open Court, asked Justice Nyako to recuse herself from his trial, on grounds of her alleged disobedience of orders of the Supreme Court.
At the mention of the case on Tuesday, Kanu’s lawyer, Alloy Ejimakor urged the court to postpone the commencement of trial, claiming that his client was denied the opportunity to prepare his defence.
In return, Kanu unexpectedly interrupted Ejimakor, ordering him to sit down, and expressed his loss of confidence in the Court presided by Justice Binta Nyako, requesting the trial judge to recuse herself.
Kanu said: “Sit down! I say you should sit down,” adding “my lord, I have no confidence in this court any more and I ask you to recuse yourself because you did not abide by the decision of the Supreme Court.
“I can understand it if the DSS refuse to obey a court order, but for this court to refuse to obey an order of the Supreme Court is regrettable.
“I am asking you to recuse yourself from this case,” Kanu said.
Prosecution lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) urged the court to proceed with the trial but the judge decided otherwise.
Justice Binta proceeded to say: “I hereby recuse myself and remit the case-file back to the Chief Judge.”
Meanwhile, after the Court’s adjournment, Kanu spoke to Journalists where he criticized the handling of his case and the escalating insecurity in the South East region of the country.
Judicial analysts told ait.live that what may become the outcome of this latest development in the Court, remains uncertain, but it clearly points to a fact that Nnamdi Kanu’s prolonged trial has entered a critical phase.