Alleged terrorism: Nnamdi Kanu gets new date for trial commencement

• The re-assignment was sequel to the request by Kanu and his team of lawyers for the transfer of the seven-count terrorism charge to another judge after alleging bias

A new date has been fixed for the commencement of the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The terrorism trial of the secessionist will commence on March 21 following the re-assignment of the case to a new judge.

The new date was fixed by Justice James Omotosho of a Federal High Court (FHC) in Abuja after the case file was transferred to him.

Recall that the Chief Judge (CJ) of FHC, Justice John Tsoho, had, in a letter dated March 4 and addressed to Kanu’s lead counsel, Mr Aloy Ejimakor, communicated the re-assignment of the case from Justice Binta Nyako to Justice Omotosho.

The re-assignment was sequel to the request by Kanu and his team of lawyers for the transfer of the seven-count terrorism charge to another judge after alleging bias.

Justice Nyako, on Sept. 24, 2024, recused herself from the case and sent the case file to the CJ of FHC for re-assignment.

The judge said she could not proceed with a trial where a defendant lacked confidence in the court.

However, the CJ sent Kanu’s case file back to Justice Nyako for adjudication, insisting that a formal application must be made by the defence before the recusal could be accepted.

But Kanu and Ejimakor, on Feb. 10, insisted that Justice Nyako no longer had jurisdiction to preside over the case after her recusal (withdrawal) from the matter, prompting the judge to adjourned the case indefinitely (sine die).

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Ahmed Mohammed (who has been elevated to Appeal Court) and Justice Tsoho (before becoming the CJ) had presided over Kanu’s trial before it was assigned to Justice Nyako, following the defendant’s rejection of the two judges.(NAN)