Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja has recused herself from the ongoing trial of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.
The case, which centres on terrorism charges brought by the federal government, hit a major roadblock Tuesday after Kanu openly expressed his lack of confidence in the judge during court proceedings.
Kanu, who has been in the custody of the Department of State Services, DSS, for over three years, suddenly interrupted the trial, demanding his lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, to sit down so he could address the court directly.
“Sit down! I say you should sit down!” Kanu shouted before turning to Justice Nyako and stating, “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.”
The IPOB leader accused the court of failing to follow the Supreme Court’s ruling, which had cleared the way for him to seek redress for the infringement of his fundamental rights.
He further argued that the federal government lacked the jurisdiction to try him on terrorism charges, stating, “I demand that you immediately recuse yourself from this matter. The Federal Government of Nigeria has no jurisdiction to prefer terrorism charges against me. You know the truth but you don’t want to say it.”
Justice Nyako’s decision to step down from the case followed Kanu’s strong objections, despite federal government lawyer Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) urging her to continue with the trial.
Awomolo argued that Kanu’s remarks were merely observations and that the trial should proceed in accordance with the Supreme Court’s ruling.
However, Justice Nyako stated that she would prefer another judge to handle the trial, noting the disruptive nature of Kanu’s behaviour.
“I don’t have problems recusing myself. In fact, I will be happy to do so. If a defendant can shout his own lawyer down, held up proceedings in this way, what is then left for the court? I have more than 700 cases in my docket to attend to. Kanu’s own is just one of them. Let him go to another judge. I have delivered 24 rulings in this matter alone,” she remarked.
Following her decision to withdraw from the case, the judge ordered that the case file be returned to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, for reassignment to a new judge.
Kanu was subsequently returned to DSS custody, where he will remain until further notice.
This marks the latest chapter in a long-running legal battle that began when Kanu was first arrested in 2015 on multiple charges, including terrorism and treasonable felony.
Despite being granted bail in 2017, Kanu fled the country after a military raid on his home. He was later rearrested and brought back to Nigeria in 2021 to continue his trial.
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