James Omotosho, a judge at the federal high court in Abuja, has scheduled the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to commence on March 21.
Gatekeepers News reports that this marks a significant development as Omotosho is the new judge assigned to Kanu’s case file, leading to the trial starting anew after its initial proceedings began in 2015.
Kanu has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since his re-arrest in Kenya and subsequent extradition to Nigeria in 2021. He is facing charges related to treasonable felony.
Initially granted bail in 2017, Kanu’s bail was later revoked when he failed to appear in court as mandated, resulting in a bench warrant for his arrest. In April 2022, Justice Binta Nyako dismissed eight of the fifteen charges against him. On October 13, 2022, the Appeals Court quashed the remaining seven counts and ordered his release; however, this ruling was stayed on October 28, 2022, after the federal government appealed to the Supreme Court.
Kanu had previously requested that Justice Nyako recuse herself from the case, citing allegations of bias. In September 2024, she complied with this request following an oral application from Kanu. Subsequently, Chief Judge John Tsoho returned the case files to Nyako, asserting that Kanu’s request needed to be formally brought before the court through a motion on notice.
On February 10, 2025, Justice Nyako adjourned Kanu’s case indefinitely, reflecting the defendant’s insistence that she should not continue overseeing the trial due to her recusal. On March 8, 2025, Kanu’s attorney, Aloy Ejimakor, reported receiving separate official notifications from Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), and Tsoho, regarding the reassignment of the case. The federal high court subsequently confirmed this reassignment to a different judge.
