The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Justice John Tsoho, has reassigned the case involving Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to another judge.
This update was shared in a statement by Kanu’s lead counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, on Saturday in Abuja.
Kanu had previously requested that Justice Binta Nyako, the judge handling the terrorism charges against him, recuse herself from the case. After Justice Nyako stepped down and transferred the case back to the Chief Judge for reassignment, the case was surprisingly reassigned back to her, a move Kanu strongly opposed.
In response, Kanu’s legal team wrote to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, on February 20, seeking intervention. On March 7, Kanu’s team received two letters regarding the case: one from the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the other from the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.
Ejimakor explained, “Before our routine visit to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, we received two official letters concerning his case. One came from the Honourable Chief Justice of Nigeria, addressing our request for the reassignment of the case, while the other was from the Chief Judge confirming the case has been reassigned to another judge.”
He further noted that Kanu instructed his legal team to publicly express gratitude to the Chief Justice of Nigeria for her timely intervention and to thank the public for their support.
“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu remains committed to standing trial, as he is confident of his innocence. However, the events over the past six months threatened his constitutional rights, especially his right to a fair and speedy trial. The reassignment represents a step towards upholding the law,” Ejimakor added.
Now, with the case reassigned, Kanu and his legal team will focus on preparing for his defense.
