December 02, (THEWILL) – The Federal High Court, Abuja, will on Thursday, December 2, 2021, resume hearing for the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of Southeast separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Kanu’s Special Counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, who made this known to newsmen on Wednesday, said the court presided over by Justice Binta Nyako, granted an abridgement of time after a motion was filed by his client.
Kanu, who is currently detained in the facility of the Department of State Services (DSS), is facing terrorism and treason related charges.
Justice Nyako had on November 10, 2021, adjourned the trial of Kanu till January 19 and 20, 2022.
But the court granted an abridgement of time after a motion was filed in that respect.
“There will be a hearing tomorrow. It wasn’t scheduled before. The court granted our motion for abridgement of time”, Ejimakor said.
Reacting to the development, IPOB in a statement issued on Wednesday night by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, commended the legal team of the group for their untiring efforts to defend their leader .
The statement read: “We wish to inform Biafrans, friends of Biafra and lovers of freedom that our Leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu will be in court tomorrow, December 2, 2021 in Abuja.
“We therefore, urge Biafrans living in Abuja and its environs to come out en masse to solidarise with our leader.
“Meanwhile, there will be no lockdown tomorrow in any part of Biafra land as a result of the court appearance.
“Biafrans resident in Biafra land as well as visitors to Biafra land are free to go about their lawful businesses without fear of molestations or intimidation.
“We have not asked or authorised anybody to monitor or enforce any lockdown. Again, there will be no lockdown in Biafra land for tomorrow’s court appearance of our Leader.
“Only Biafrans and friends of Biafra in Abuja and its environs that are encouraged to be at the court premises. As a non-violent movement, we urge everyone to remain peaceful and law abiding in all their conducts. Security operatives should also refrain from infringing on the fundamental rights of people who come to cheer our leader.”
Meanwhile, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has said that the issue of pardon for Kanu, is premature.
Malami stated this on Wednesday while appearing as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“Pardon is a function of conviction in the Nigerian context and as far as I know, Nnamdi Kanu has not been convicted yet so the idea of pardoning him is premature”, the AGF asserted.
Buttressing his point, the minister said trials associated with Kanu have not been concluded and as such the pardon option cannot get on the table just yet.
Reacting to a question regarding the IPOB leader’s pardon being an option for peace in the South East, the AGF said he is yet to assess the security implications of such a decision.
Nonetheless, Malami declared that the best interest of the public would be a major consideration if the opportunity avails itself for a pardon to be given to the IPOB leader.
South-East leaders had in November, met with President Muhammadu Buhari to plead for Kanu’s release.
While addressing the leaders, who visited him under the aegis of Highly Respected Igbo Greats, Buhari had said, the plea for Kanu’s release is an extremely difficult demand on him as leader of this country.
