Court adjourns Kanu’s trial-in-absentia till Jan 27

Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu

The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Thursday, adjourned the trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, till January 27, 2021.

Justice Binta Nyako, who had fixed Thursday for the commencement of trial with or without Kanu’s presence, was forced to adjourn the matter due to the absence of the defence lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor.

Ejiofor had sent in a letter, which was also served on the prosecution, appealing to the court to adjourn the matter on the grounds that he did not get the notice for the proceedings early enough.

But the lead prosecuting counsel, Mr Magaji Labaran, said Ejiofor’s claim was misleading, adding that the request for an adjournment was an attempt to continue to deliberately frustrate the case.

He said, “There has been consistent and deliberate attempt to frustrate the trial of this case, first of which was orchestrated by the sureties.

“Today, we have made efforts to assemble our witnesses only for us to be confronted with yet another attempt to frustrate the trial.

“We shall be compelled to take an adjournment with huge cost to enable us deflate the cost of the defendants, who came from outside jurisdiction.”

Labaran also reminded the judge that the court had on March 28, 2020 ordered the trial of the IPOB leader, believed to have jumped bail, adding that the trial would proceed in his absence.

The judge, however, conceded that the hearing notice for Thursday’s proceedings was served late on the parties due to the fault of the court registrar.

She, however, warned that the trial would proceed on the next date with or without the presence of Kanu and his lawyer.

Justice Nyako had on March 28, 2019, revoked the bail granted the IPOB leader, ordered his arrest and directed that his trial on charges of treasonable felony would proceed in his absence.

The judge, who acted on the application by the lead prosecuting counsel, Labaran, had anchored her decision on the defendant’s failure to appear in court since April 25, 2017, without any reasonable explanation.