‘No judge stepped down from Kanu’s trial’, Federal Court clarifies

The Federal High Court of Nigeria has debunked reports that the new judge assigned to preside over the treasonable felony case against the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has stepped down.

There were reports on Tuesday claiming that the new judge assigned by the Chief Judge of the Court, Justice John Tsoho, to take over the case following the recusal of Justice Binta Nyako following repeated calls by Kanu for the case to be transferred to another judge, had also withdrawn from handling the case.

The reports which made the rounds on various online platforms, also claimed that Justice Tsoho himself had also withdrawn from the case, insinuating that it was another ploy by the Nigerian government to delay the trial and continue to keep Kanu in detention perpetually.

But in a statement late Tuesday in Abuja, the High Court refuted the media report, describing it as “mischievous, damaging in intent, and should be disregarded in its entirety.”

The statement issued by the Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court, Sulaiman Hassan, added that the reports was “entirely unfounded, fictitious, and grossly mischievous.”

“The attention of Management of the Federal High Court has been drawn, with great concern, to an online reportage as above captioned,” the statement reads.

“The court unequivocally refutes the false and misleading report, alleging that the Honourable Chief Judge, Hon. Justice John T. Tsoho, OFR, has stepped down from Nnamdi Kanu’s case and made statements regarding the legality of his arrest.

“The true position is that the honourable justice Tsoho, in his capacity as chief judge, has reassigned Nnamdi Kanu’s case from honourable justice Binta Nyako to another (‘new’) judge. The report referred to, is, therefore, totally spurious.

“The defense team should hence prepare to receive instructions regarding the case, as may be issued by the new judge.

“The federal high court strongly cautions against deliberate misinformation to mislead the public and erode confidence in the judicial system.

“Members of the public are advised to seek official information from the court’s information department for any further inquiries,” it added.

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