“Nnamdi Kanu Demands Transfer of Case to South-East Amid Court Dispute”

The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has made a bold request for his case to be transferred to a court in the South-East, if no other judge at the Federal High Court in Abuja is willing to handle it, other than Justice Binta Nyako. The request was made public through a statement by Kanu’s lead counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, after a routine meeting between Kanu and his legal team at the Department of State Services (DSS) facility in Abuja.

This development follows Justice Nyako’s decision to recuse herself from Kanu’s case on September 24, 2024, citing the IPOB leader’s lack of confidence in her impartiality. Despite her recusal, the case was later referred to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, who returned it to Justice Nyako for further handling.

Kanu has repeatedly opposed the idea of having Justice Nyako continue with the trial, arguing that her return undermines the integrity of the judicial process. In his latest statement, Ejimakor revealed that Kanu had instructed his legal team to ensure that Justice Nyako does not preside over the case.

“The central issue arising at today’s visitation is the upcoming court date for the continuation of MNK’s case,” Ejimakor stated. “Due to its constitutional implications, Onyendu [Nnamdi Kanu] instructed the legal team to take certain steps to ensure his case is not handled by Justice Binta Murtala-Nyako, who had previously withdrawn from the case following a recusal order on September 24, 2024.”

Kanu’s legal team has stressed that if Justice Nyako’s involvement continues, it would amount to disobedience of an order made by the same court. The legal team emphasized the importance of assigning a new judge and suggested that if no judge in Abuja is willing to take on the case, it should be transferred to any Federal High Court in the South-East, where the alleged offenses were said to have occurred.

“If no other judge in Abuja is willing to handle the case, the Chief Judge is free to transfer the case to Umuahia, Awka, Enugu, Asaba, Port Harcourt, or any other Federal High Court within the former Eastern Nigeria, where the alleged offenses were said to have occurred or had their impact,” the statement concluded.