Following the fresh six-count charges filled by the Federal Government of
Nigeria against the embattled leader of Indigenous People of Biafra,
IPOB, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, a federal High Court judge has exempted himself
from hearing the case.
Justice Ahmed Mohammed who announced the decision on Wednesday in Abuja
after Mr. Kanu objected to the case, said that it was needless, as the
federal government had repeatedly disobeyed previous court rulings.
Kanu was charged before the Federal High Court, Abuja alongside two
others, Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi in a fresh six-count charge
of treason and managing the affairs of ‘an unlawful society.’ The
government is accusing Mr. Kanu of plotting to split Nigeria, by creating
a Biafra Republic with south east, south south states, and parts of Kogi
and Benue states, as component units.
Kanu, who was arraigned before Justice Mohammed Wednesday, told the court
before commencement of the prosecution’s plea that he preferred being held
in the detention, than subjecting himself to a trial, which outcome will
not be respected. He said his previous trials had various outcomes that
were abused or neglected by the office of the State Security Service, SSS.
The counsel to the prosecution, who is also the Federal Director of
Prosecution, office of the Attorney General, Mohamed Diri, told the court
that based on section 396 (2) of the constitution, the defendant had no
right to object to being tried by the court until after the plea is heard.
However, Justice Mohammed who said he was opting out of the case also
countered the prosecution counsels, saying that Mr. Kanu had the right to
reject the trial, “after all justice is rooted on confidence,” he said.
“If any of the parties has no confidence in the court, he has the right to
say so”, Mr. Mohammed ruled. He noted that the prosecution would have done
the same thing if they were in Kanu’s shoes. “Assuming it was the
prosecution, if they had no confidence in the court of jurisdiction; would
they not have done so?” “I hereby remit the case file to the honourable
chief judge of this court to reassign it,” the judge said.