The special counsel to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Barr Aloy Ejimakor, has explained why his client demanded Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to recuse herself from his alleged terrorism trial. Recuse is when a judge or prosecutor is challenged as unqualified to perform legal duties because of a potential conflict of interest or lack of impartiality.
Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, had during his trial on 21 September said that he had lost confidence in Justice Nyako, and demanded the honourable justice to excuse herself from his case.
Ejimakor, in a press briefing, said Kanu’s verbal request for the judge to hands off the case was in exercise of his constitutional right.
He said, “What happened is an example of the defendant exercising his rights when he loses confidence in the court according to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“It is nothing extraordinary. It happened for a reason. We had contended, complained even in the media, and filed motions upon motions in the High Court as well as submitted evidence that where Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is currently being detained complicates his preparations for trial because of several unconstitutional conducts of the Department of State Services.
“One, the DSS seizes our legal documents. Two, they listen to our conversations with Kanu. These things led to an extra-ordinary court order by the former judge handling his case that we be provided a free room that is free from secret listening devices in order to be effective in preparing him for trials. That clean room was not provided.
“Under Section 36 of the Nigerian constitution, this is wrong. The defendant is entitled to adequate facilities for preparations before his defence; he is entitled to interact with his counsel in an atmosphere of confidentiality free from interference from anywhere.
“The DSS has become very stubborn in complying with this court order. We did in fact file a contempt which is pending before the federal high court but there is no change in the circumstance. This made it impossible for us to prepare Nnamdi Kanu for trial.”
He said under such circumstances, Kanu had the right to ask Justice Nyako to recuse herself from his trial for the sake of fair hearing. In his words, “When on 21st September 2024, the judge insisted that the trial must proceed in the face of all these anomalies, our client had no choice, not we as counsel had the stand to refuse; it is he that has the constitutional standing: he rose up to exercise that constitutional right because with this atmosphere of not being prepared for his trial, how could the judge insist that the trial must continue?
“That was exactly what led to the loss of confidence in the judge.”
Barr Nnaemeka Ejiofor, a member of the team, clarified further that, “Anybody who appears before a court of law must have the feeling that his right is protected; not just protected but must be seen as being protected.
“Once you are before a court and you do not have that feeling that your fundamental right is being protected by the court, you have the right to request the judge to recuse herself. It can happen for many reasons.”
Kanu is being detained at the custody of DSS since 2021 after his rendition from Kenya to Nigeria. He is accused of terrorism for leading a group agitating for Biafra Republic.