𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐍𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐝𝐢 𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐮 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐭

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday stood down proceedings in the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to allow him file a process and depose to an affidavit in his defence.

Justice James Omotosho granted the stand-down after the prosecution counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), requested time for Kanu to complete the filing process. This followed Kanu’s complaint that officials of the State Security Service (SSS), where he is being detained, had prevented him from submitting the document for three days.

Kanu, addressing the court, said, “My lord, I have a process here to file, which has not been allowed for the last three days. I have the process for my defence. I don’t know if my lord will allow me to file it for my defence.”

The judge then sought clarification from SSS officers present in court on why the defendant had been unable to file the process.

One of the operatives explained that after the last adjournment on Wednesday, Kanu indicated his intention to file, but the logistics required for his movement could not be arranged. He added that the SSS protocol demands a formal request from Kanu’s lawyers before such movement can take place.

He said, “If the defendant wants to file a process in court, we have a standard procedure for his movement to guarantee his safety and that of others. A letter must be written by his lawyers to the SSS management.”

However, Kanu objected, insisting that the officer’s account was inaccurate.

Mr Awomolo clarified that the SSS movement protocol was governed by the court’s directive and urged the court to stand down for about an hour to enable Kanu file the document, which Justice Omotosho approved.