The Indigenous People of Biafra leader in custody, Nnamdi Kanu, has asked the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to move his case to a court in South-East or South-South Nigeria instead of reassigning it to Justice Binta Murtala-Nyako.
His legal team, headed by Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, his Special Counsel, filed the appeal on Wednesday in advance of the next court session for the continuation of his case.
Nnamdi Kanu had previously requested the recusal of Justice Murtala-Nyako from his case, a decision the judge later confirmed by stepping down from the matter.
However, Kanu’s legal team recently raised concerns that the case has been reassigned to Justice Murtala-Nyako, a move they have strongly criticized and rejected.
In a statement issued on Wednesday after a routine visit to Kanu at the Department of State Services (DSS) facility, his lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, revealed that Kanu instructed his legal team to ensure Justice Murtala-Nyako does not preside over his case.
Ejimakor stated, “Due to its constitutional implications, Onyendu instructed the legal team to take certain prompt steps to ensure that his case is not handled by the same Justice Binta Murtala-Nyako who had withdrawn from the case by virtue of the order of recusal entered on September 24, 2024.
“The point was stressed that should the case still lie with Justice Murtala-Nyako, it would mean that the same court is disobeying an order that it made.
“We are therefore looking forward to going to court as long as another Judge of the Federal High Court is assigned to the case.”
He demanded, “If no other Judge in Abuja is willing to handle the case, the Chief Judge is free to transfer the case to Umuahia, Awka, Enugu, Asaba, Port Harcourt or any other Federal High Court within the former Eastern Nigeria where the offences were alleged to have happened or allegedly had impact.”
