Justice Binta Nyako withdraws from Nnamdi Kanu’s case as IPOB leader expresses lack of confidence in the Court

Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja recused herself from Nnamdi Kanu’s trial, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), after Kanu and his lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, requested her withdrawal.  The IPOB Leader expressed his lack of confidence for the court and asked justice Nyako to recuse herself

“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 DSS refuse 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,” Kanu stated.

The prosecution counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, urged the court to ignore Kanu’s position, insisting that the Supreme Court directed that he should be tried on the pending seven-count charge. “This is clearly an incompetent and audacious observation,” Awomolo said.

The judge responded that, as far as she was concerned, there was nothing in the Supreme Court’s lead judgment that supported Kanu’s assertion.

She expressed surprise that Kanu would stand up and yell at his counsel.

“I hereby recuse myself from this case and remit the file to the Chief Judge for further necessary action,” Nyako stated.

The judge said she could not proceed with a trial where a defendant lacked confidence in the court.