Binta Nyako, a federal high court judge, has recused herself from presiding over the case of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
A recuse means a judge excusing himself or herself from a case because of a potential conflict of interest or a perception of bias.
At the resumed court session on Tuesday, Kanu directly told Nyako that he no longer had confidence in her handling of his trial.
Adegboyega Awomolo, counsel to the federal government, had told the court that he had a witness in court and was ready to proceed with trial.
Awomolo had also sought the protection of the witness.
While the court was setting up a protection screen to shield the witness, Alloy Ejimakor, counsel to Kanu, told the court that his team was not ready to proceed with the trial.
Ejimakor said his client has consistently been denied the opportunity to adequately prepare for his defence.
While the lawyer was still addressing the court, Kanu yelled from the dock, asking Ejimakor to sit down. “Sit down! I say you should sit down!” the defendant bellowed from the dock.
Facing the judge, Kanu said: “My lord, I have no confidence in this court any more and I ask you to recuse yourself because you did not abide by the decision of the supreme court”.
“I can understand it if the Department of State Services (DSS) refuses to obey a court order, but for this court to refuse to obey an order of the supreme court is regrettable. I am asking you to recuse yourself from this case.”
Although the prosecution urged the court to proceed with the trial, Nyako said she would go with extricating herself from the case.
She said she would be sending the case file back to the chief judge for reassignment and further necessary actions. “I hereby recuse myself and remit the case file back to the chief judge,” she held.
BACKGROUND
Kanu has been in the custody of the DSS since he was re-arrested in Kenya and extradited to Nigeria in 2021.
He has been standing trial on a seven-count charge bordering on treasonable felony.
In 2017, the court granted Kanu bail on the charges filed against him by the federal government. However, the court revoked the bail and issued a bench warrant for his arrest after he failed to present himself as required.
In April 2022, Nyako struck out eight of the 15 counts in the charge.
The remaining seven counts were also quashed by the court of appeal on October 13, 2022, with the judge ordering Kanu’s release.
However, on October 28, 2022, the court of appeal granted a stay of execution on its verdict discharging Kanu, after the federal government filed an appeal at the supreme court.
In March, Kanu was denied bail. In May, his bail request was again turned down.
