…Judge faults DSS over his absence, adjourns trial till Oct 21
Trial of the self acclaimed leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, suffered setback on Monday, following the failure by the Department of State Services (DSS) to produce him before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
At the resumption of the proceedings before Justice Binta Murtala Nyako , the prosecuting lawyer, Mohammed Abubakar, informed the court that Kanu was not in court due to logistics reasons.
But Kanu in his response through his lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, lamented that the DSS has denied the defence team access to Kanu for the past eight days.
Ejiofor also urged the court to grant the request of his client, seeking to be transferred from the DSS custody to the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja.
He further urged the judge to grant Kanu access to his medical doctor for the purpose of carrying out a comprehensive independent medical examination on him.
According to him, Kanu cannot get a fair trial if he remains in the custody of the DSS.
In her ruling on the matter, Justice Binta Nyako directed the DSS to produce Kanu in court at the next adjourned day.
The judge also faulted the action of the security outfit, saying that she had stayed back in her chambers waiting for Kanu to be in court.
Justice Nyako further asked the prosecution to be diligent with dates whenever she gives one, insisting that it was important for Kanu to be present at his trial.
The judge also said that she would give an order for access to Kanu, saying ,however, that such access would not be free for all as it must be regimented.
The judge also declined the application of Ejiofor that Kanu should be transferred to a correctional centre and ordered that Kanu should remain in the custody of the DSS.
Justice Nyako thereafter adjourned the trial of Kanu till October 21.
Kanu was first arrested in 2015 on charges of alleged terrorism, treasonable felony, and managing an unlawful society.
Other allegations levelled against him by the Federal Government were the publication of defamatory matter, illegal possession of firearms, and improper importation of goods, among others.
The IPOB leader was initially detained and arraigned in court but he fled the country in 2017 after he was granted bail for medical reasons.
While he was away, he was sighted in Israel and reportedly continued to rally his supporters in Nigeria to achieve the secession of a significant part of Nigeria’s southern region to form the Republic of Biafra.
About four years since he jumped bail, Kanu was intercepted on June 27 and repatriated to Nigeria in an operation conducted by Nigerian security operatives in collaboration with international partners, to face the charges for which he was arrested.
