The trial of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, has taken another dramatic turn with Justice Binta Nyako’s withdrawal from the case.
Kanu’s legal team had expressed lack of confidence in Nyako’s court, prompting her recusal, acoustic to Independent.
Barrister Onyinye Gandhi Chukwunyere, spokesperson for African Action Congress National Leader Omoyele Sowore, has criticized the Nigerian justice system, stating that politics influences the law, undermining the delivery of justice.
He stated that the courts under the present system cannot dispense justice.
Chukwunyere explained that the law is typically subservient to politics, especially in a backward neocolony like Nigeria where the rule of law exists only on paper.
Bishop Herbert Ekechukwu noted that Kanu accused Justice Nyako of disobeying a Supreme Court order, leading to her recusal.
This development will delay the trial, prolonging tension in the South East.
Hon. Charles Anike, National President of Eastern Union, described the Federal Government’s trial of Kanu as “baseless and mischievous.” Anike criticized the government’s disregard for its own laws and the continued detention of Kanu despite unlawful arrest and infringement on his rights.
Kanu’s legal team, led by Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, reported that the Department of State Services blocked their visitation rights, isolating Kanu from his lawyers in solitary confinement.
Ejimakor stated that this move is seen as retaliation for Kanu’s lack of confidence in Justice Nyako’s court,
The developments have sparked concerns about the independence and impartiality of the Nigerian judiciary.
Chukwunyere warned that the people cannot have recourse to the courts, anarchy prevails, alleging that the crooked politicians and judges, who continue to stain and corrupt the judiciary, should know that they are sowing the wind, will definitely harvest a whirlwind.
The Justice had no option than to step aside “The following are the implications. The file will now go to the Chief Judge for a reassignment. Then, the hearing of the case will be delayed and prolonged.
“There will be further tension in the South East. IPOB supporters will believe that they have scored a victory. The case will be going back and front and the fragile situation in the South East will worsen.
“The fact on the ground is that Nnamdi Kanu has no case to answer.”
Hon. Charles Anike, the National President of Eastern Union (EU), a socio-political pressure group of the people of the Old Eastern Region, said: “The Federal Government’s trial of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is baseless and mischievous by the successive APC lawless governments.
“Any government that does not obey its own laws cannot be sustained. “Justice Binta Nyako’s decision to rescue herself from the baseless trial of Kanu and of course, she was not the first to take that decision.
“It is still a surprise to many that President BolaTinubu administration will continue the recklessness and lawlessness of former President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
“Both the arrest and detention of Kanu by the Buhari administration were unlawful and infringement on his rights and for that reason, everyone had thought that President Tinubu was going to be more reasonable.
“But, it is now obvious that there is more to Kanu’s detention than what the government wants the public to know.
“Both Buhari and Tinubu governments have continued to trump up unfounded and baseless charges against him to no avail.
“We just hope that the APC government under Tinubu should swallow its pride and shame to release Kanu so that peace and tranquility can once again return in the South-East in particular and Nigeria at large.
“Those who the Federal Government formerly accused of committing similar crimes as Kanu are all moving freely.
So, it is still not out of place if Ndigbo continues to accuse the APC successive governments of both marginalisation, hatred and victimisation.”
Another twist in the trial of Nnamdi Kanu emerged on Friday through a statement signed by Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, on behalf of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s legal team, which was indeed an alarm and an update on the trial.
In the statement, Barrister Ejimakor stated: “Today (Friday), in violation of subsisting court orders and the constitution, the DSS blocked the Legal Team of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from meeting with him at the detention facility.
“It appears that the DSS has cancelled all future visitations to #MNK as a retaliation against #MNK ‘for chasing away Justice Binta Nyako from the case and causing her embarrassment’.
“What this means is that the DSS, acting on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, has unlawfully isolated #MNK from his lawyers, thus making his solitary confinement absolute. “I don’t know when next, if ever, it may be possible to see #MNK again.”
