The Department of State Services on Monday failed to produce the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu for the resumption of his trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
This forced Justice Binta Nyako to adjourn the case to October 21, 2021, while ordering the DSS to produce Kanu on that date before the court.
Speaking at the start of the trial, the counsel to the Government, M. B. Abubakar, held Kanu’s lawyer, Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor responsible for the Defendant’s absence in court on what called “logistical problems”.
While Abubakar argued that he was ready to commence the trial in Kanu’s absence, Justice Nyako declared that the case could not go on in the absence of the Defendant.
“I am also worried why the Defendant is not here. The first step in a criminal matter is to provide the Defendant in court. He is not here,” she said.
Though Justice Nyako acknowledged that she could not proceed with the case without Fiat allowing her to sit as a vacation judge, she made an order, directing the DSS to grant Kanu access to his lawyers.
This was because Ejiofor had complained that the DSS had denied him access to the incarcerated IPOB leader, raising the alarm that the life of his client was in danger.
He said that he had been denied access to his client for the past 10 days.
“My lord, speaking from the Bar, I got it on good authority that my client has been taken away, outside the jurisdiction of this court”, Ejiofor added.
