There was a drama at the Federal High Court Abuja this morning. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) pointedly told the trial judge Nyako Binta that she lacked the legal ground to continue his trial.
Last year Kanu demanded that Nyako should recused herself from his case because he had no confidence in her. The judge obliged and handed his case files back to the Chief Judge John Tsoho.
But in a troubling twist, Binta Nyako issued an impromptu notice last week, mandating the Biafran activist to appear in Court today.
According to her, Justice Tsoho insisted that she handled the case unless Kanu submitted former application to asked for recusal.
While in the court, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu refused to submit to Nyako since she has formally handed off his case.
Then, Binta Nyako replied with action that clearly crushed the hopes of IPOB family: she suspended the trial indefinitely.
Kanu was first arrested in 2015 under the administration of former president Muhammad Buhari. In 2017 he was granted bail under stringent conditions. When the troops of Nigerian army attacked his home in Abia State, he disappeared out of Nigeria.
For years, his whereabout remained largely unknown until Federal Government announced in June 2021 that he was rearrested in Kenya and returned to Nigeria.
From the looks of things, the government is weak on how best to handle the pro-Biafra activist, having revised the charges he was accused of several times. Appeal Court has also ruled that Kanu is innocent and should be released unconditionally.
But the Federal Government continues to cling on flimsy excuses to disobey several court orders that favour the separatist, leading to the conclusion that Kanu is simply a prisoner of conscience.
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