Court Sets New Date To Resume Trial Of IPOB Leader, Nnamdi Kanu | READ DETAILS
Trial into the matter between the Federal Government and Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), will resume on February 26 at the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja by 9am.
The case which started in 2015, had been put on hold at the Federal High Court in Abuja after the Court of Appeal dismissed terro-rism charges against Kanu in a judgment delivered in October 2022.
Announcing the new date for resumption of trial, barrister Aloy Ejimakor, special counsel to the IPOB leader, via his X handle (formerly known as Twitter) on Thursday, wrote:
“If either party desires to postpone the hearing he must apply to the Court as soon as possible for that purpose; and if the application is based on any matter of fact, he must be prepared to give proof of those facts.
“The parties are warned that at the hearing they are required to bring forward all the evidence by witnesses or by documents which each of them desires to rely on in support of his own case and in contradiction of that of his opponent,” the court said in the hearing notice.
It stressed that the evidence will be required at the hearing and that failure of any party to supply their evidence at the time of the hearing might result in the party being restricted or asked to pay to do so.
“Parties desirous to enforce the attendance of witnesses should apply at once to the Court to issue one or more summonses for the attendance of the witnesses required.
“It is indispensable that the application should be made so as to allow time for reasonable notice to the witnesses required.
“If the witness is required to bring books or papers, they must be particularised in the summons sufficiently to enable him to understand what is meant”.
“Any party summoning a witness through the Court, thereby becomes liable to pay such witness a reasonable sum of money to be fixed by the Court for his expense and loss of time.”
“If either party desires to use in evidence at the hearing any book or document in the possession or power of the other party, he must give the other party reasonable notice in writing to produce it at the hearing, failing which he will not be allowed to give any secondary evidence of its contents”.
Recall that the Court of Appeal in Abuja, on October 13, 2022, held that the Nnamdi Kanu was extra-ordinarily renditioned to Nigeria and that the action was a flagrant violation of the country’s extradition treaty and also a breach of his fundamental human rights.
The court struck out the terroris-m charges filed against Kanu by the Federal government and ordered his release from the facility of the Department of State Service (DSS).
However, the FG appealed the judgement and subsequently obtained a stay of execution order at the Supreme Court
Delivering judgment on the appeal on 15 December, 2023, the Supreme Court reversed the acquittal granted to Kanu by the lower court and consequently ordered the continuation of his trial at the Federal High Court Abuja.
