John Tsoho, chief judge of the Federal High Court of Abuja, has reassigned the case of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the indigenous people of Biyafra to another judge.
Kanu’s chief legal counsel Aloy Ejimakor disclosed this. Kanu had previously asked Justice Binta Nyako to withdraw from preside over seven terrorism charges filed against him by the federal government.
The move was strongly opposed when Justice Nyako resigned and transferred the case files back to the Chief Justice for reallocation, which was later returned to her.
On February 20, Kanu’s legal team wrote to Nigeria’s Chief Justice Judge Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, seeking intervention in the reallocation of the case.
Ejimakor revealed in a statement released today that on Friday, March 7, the legal team received two official letters about the Kanu case – the Chief Justice of Nigeria, and the other from the Chief Justice.
“Yesterday, before the legal team conducted a routine visit to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, we received two official letters about his case. The letters are important and a little like twists and turns.
A letter from the Honorary Chief Justice of Nigeria responds to a recent letter we have written to her seeking her swift administrative intervention (as the head of administration of the Nigerian judiciary) in the case of proper and legal redistribution of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, after the judge who conducted her case.
Another letter comes from the Chief Justice of the Federal High Court, informing us that the case has been reassigned to another judge of the Federal High Court.
After receiving the letter, Ejimakor pointed out that Kanu directed his legal team to publicly express “honest thanks to CJN for her reasonable administrative discretion and the timeliness of her requests from them.”
He also expressed his gratitude to the public who publicly supported the public demands of our justice demands, demanding that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu be reassigned to another judge, as required by the law.
To be clear, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has always been ready for trial because he firmly believes in his innocence. However, the misconduct in the past six months (from September 2024, the review began) has posed a significant danger to his constitutional rights, especially his right to fair and quick hearings. In view of this, we have taken extraordinary measures to ensure that the law is properly redistributed and enforced.
Now that the authorities have taken the initial steps to uphold the law, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and his legal team will take stock of it, focusing on preparing for defense. ” Ejimakor said.
