The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, will ask Justice Binta Nyako of a Federal High Court in Abuja to recluse herself from his trial, his lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has said.
Ejiofor also stated that the legal team, which he led, did not stage a walk out from the court during Kanu’s trial on November 10.
The PUNCH reports that the team staged a walk out following the refusal of operatives of the Department of State Services to allow some of them to gain access into the courtroom.
Ejiofor said what played out in the court “was an eye-opener to us and clear to my client and the legal team.”
He said, “So under normal circumstances the team would have been allowed in. Assuming this is a court which is impartial, it will say ‘call Ejiofor for me let me listen to him to know what’s going in the court.’ But in this case, they gave an order that we should not come in.
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“So, obviously, my client and by extension, the legal team has no implicit confidence in the court. So, going forward, we are activating the process to urge My Lord to recluse herself from the case so that the Chief Judge would give directive to that effect. It is open now even before a layman on the street that she is partial.
“This is a case in which we are representing a race, not Nnamdi Kanu. This is a case involving Igbo, not Nnamdi Kanu alone; we’re representing a race in this case. As serious as this case is, it shouldn’t have been treated with levity.”
On the walk out, Ejiofor said, “There was not a walk out in court. So what happened was that at one of the court appearances, we mentioned our frustrations to the court. They denied not only lawyers but also the media; we were not allowed to come in.
“On that day, we were in court; not that we were downstairs. She saw us from the camera of the court, so she should have asked us to come in if she really wanted to give us opportunity to be heard.
“Now that takes us back to what happened on June 29 when Kanu was brought to court without us being informed about his presence in court. It shows that what happened in court on June 29 when he was abducted in Kenya and brought Nigeria and smuggled into court didn’t happen by accident.”
