Kanu
Tony Ezimakor, AbujaK
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Following the appeal made by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere Ekun seeking her administrative intervention in his stalled trial, the Federal High Court has reassigned the case to another judge.
The detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader had vowed not to appear before Justice Binta Murtala-Nyako or any other court lacking the jurisdiction to hear his case.
Recall that Justice Nyako who had previously recused himself from the case in reaction to allegation of bias, continue to superintend over the case, recently adjoining the matter indefinitely prompting the detainee to petition the CJN.
Disclosing the development in a statement Alloy Ejimakor, counsel to the IPOB leader, declared the intervention of the CJN as a pyrrhic victory of sort, and a momentous development in the lingering case.
“Yesterday, before the legal team conducted our routine visitation to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, we received two separate official letters regarding his case. The letters are momentous and somewhat pyrrhic.
“One letter was from the Honourable Chief Justice of Nigeria, responding to a recent letter we had written to her, seeking her prompt administrative intervention (as the administrative head of Nigerian judiciary) on the matter of a proper and lawful reassignment of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s case, following the recusal of the Judge that was conducting it.
“The other letter was from the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, informing us that the case has been reassigned to another Judge of the Federal High Court.”
Ejimakor said the detained IPOB leader has instructed the legal team to publicly convey his sincere gratitudes to the Chief Justice of Nigeria for her sound administrative discretions and the despatch with which she responded to our request.
“He also expressed his profound appreciations to members of the general public, who publicly expressed their support to our righteous demands that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s case be reassigned to another Judge, as the law demands.
“To be sure, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has always been ready to take his trial because he is firmly convinced of his innocence. But the perverse events of the past six months (from September 2024, when the recusal happened) posed portent dangers to his constitutional rights, particularly his right to fair and speedy hearing.
“It was in view of this that we were propelled to resort to taking extraordinary measures to ensure that his case is properly reassigned and conducted in accordance with the law.
“So, now that the first steps have been taken by the authorities to do the lawful thing, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and his legal team shall take stock and hanker down to the zealous preparation of his defense,” he said.
