Court adjourns indefinitely as Kanu demands case transfer to S’East

The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, indefinitely adjourned the trial of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, after he reiterated his refusal to be tried before Justice Binta Nyako.

Justice Nyako announced the adjournment on Monday following Kanu’s insistence that his case be transferred to a court in the South-East.

Kanu had  had September 24, 2024, requested Justice Nyako to recuse herself from his trial, citing a lack of confidence in her handling of the case.

In response, the judge agreed to step down and forwarded the case file to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, for reassignment.

However, Justice Tsoho later returned the case to Justice Nyako, stating that, given the prolonged history of the matter—which dates back to 2015—she was best suited to continue handling it.

Since Nyako’s initial recusal, Kanu’s trial had been stalled until January 22, 2025, when the Federal Government issued a hearing notice summoning him to appear in court on Monday, February 10.

The hearing notice, issued at the request of the prosecution counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), was based on a letter dated December 5, 2024, urging the court to fix a trial date.

But countering the Federal Government’s demand for continuation of trial, Kanu wrote a letter dated January 30, 2025, asking that instead of standing trial before Justice Nyako, he would rather have his case transferred to the South-East.

He wrote:“Since Justice Nyako’s recusal is binding, she no longer has jurisdiction over my case. Given that no other judge in the Abuja division is willing to take it, the only viable option is to transfer the matter to any division of the Federal High Court in the South-East, particularly since the alleged offences have an impact in the South-East (not Abuja). This gives the South-East divisions superior jurisdiction compared to Abuja.”

At the resumed hearing on Monday, the prosecution counsel, Awomolo, informed the court that the Federal Government was ready to proceed with the trial, stating that its witnesses were available.

However, Kanu expressed his strong disapproval of appearing before Justice Nyako, insisting that she no longer had jurisdiction over his case.

“I do not recognise this court’s authority over me.

I only honoured the hearing notice out of respect for the rule of law. The Chief Judge’s decision to return my case to Justice Nyako is unacceptable,” Kanu stated.

He accused the judge of bias and argued that the prosecution had no legal grounds to continue the case.

Justice Nyako, in response, clarified that the Chief Judge did not accept her recusal, which is why the case file was returned to her.

She directed Kanu’s counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, to submit a formal written application if they wished to insist on her withdrawal from the case.

She then adjourned the matter indefinitely.

Kanu is facing seven counts, bordering on treason and terrorism.

The charges were initially eight in number but the court had on April 8, 2022 struck out seven counts for lack of merit.

Subsequently, the Court of Appeal in Abuja ordered Kanu’s release and dismissed the remaining charges against him.

However, the Federal Government challenged this ruling at the Supreme Court, which reversed the appeal court’s decision and ruled that Kanu still had a case to answer on the remaining seven counts.

Kanu was first arrested on October 14, 2015, upon his return to Nigeria from the United Kingdom.

He was detained at Kuje Correctional Facility but was granted bail in 2017 on health grounds.

However, after an alleged military invasion of his hometown, Kanu fled to the United Kingdom, prompting the Nigerian government to label him a fugitive.

In 2021, he was re-arrested in Kenya and extradited to Nigeria, and has since been kept in the custody of the Department of State Services.

Since his re-arrest, Kanu has filed multiple applications requesting bail, transfer to Kuje Correctional Facility, or house arrest—none of which have been granted by the court, citing the fact that he jumped the earlier bail and fled the country.