Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled Friday, March 21, as the start date for the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reliably gathered on Wednesday that Justice Omotosho fixed the date after the case file was transferred to him.
Kanu, who was brought back to the country in June 2021 from Kenya, was expected to take his plea as the case begins afresh (de novo).
NAN reports 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 followed the demand 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 (withdrew) 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 adjourn the case indefinitely (sine die).
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.
