The legal team of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu has warned that the federal government must produce him onjj (Thursday) before Justice Binta Nyako of a Federal High Court in Abuja.
Issuing the warning during a press conference on Wednesday, the leader of the team, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, said tomorrow, being October 21 2021, should be sacrosanct.
“Our client, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu must and shall be produced in court to face his trial”, Ejiofor said.
Other members of Kanu’s legal team who were at the press conference included Alloy Ejimakor, Maxwell Okpara and Bruce Fein, IPOB lawyer in the United States.
Referring to the issuance of a fiat by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, that Kanu’s trial be held during the court’s annual vacation, he expressed regrets that the office of the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, deliberately stayed away from the court.
According to Ejiofor, the regular Monday sit-at-order in South East Nigeria was being observed “because people are yet to see and believe that Nnamdi Kanu is still alive.”
He recalled the alleged arrest and detention of over 20 indigenes of Ebonyi State who had travelled to the Federal High Court in Abuja to witness Kanu’s trial on July 26.
Ejiofor appealed to security operatives to allow lawyers and journalists attend the IPOB leader’s trial on Thursday.
He said, “The show of shame openly demonstrated by the overzealous security agents on July 26, 2021, should never repeat itself.”
This medium recalls that the last proceedings saw journalists and lawyers being manhandled, while Kanu who is being held by the Department of State State Services.
Worst still, Kanu was not brought to court; a development that was blamed on “logistical issues” by the prosecuting lawyer, Mohammed Abubakar.
Ejiofor who also cautioned IPOB supporters added: “You all must remain civil and be of good conduct as you have always been” saying “not everyone would be able to access the court room.”
While harping further, he also described Kanu’s arrest in Kenya on June 19, 2021, and appearance in Nigeria on June 29, 2021 as persecution.
Just last week, the Federal Government slammed an amended seven-count charge against Kanu, while the FHC issued a hearing notice for Thursday, October 21.
The Notice titled: ‘Federal Republic of Nigeria Versus Nnamdi Kanu with suit number: FHC/ABJ/CR/383/15, was served on Ejiofor and the prosecuting lawyer, Shuaibu Labaran.
Justice Nyako in a fresh directive as to the conduct of proceedings, said the case would be “transferred from the General Cause List to the hearing paper for Thursday October 21 2021at 9 o’clock if the business of the court permits.
“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 proof will be required at the hearing and not on a subsequent day, and parties failing to bring their evidence forward at the proper time may find themselves absolutely precluded from adducing it at all, or at best only allowed to do so on payment of substantial costs to the other side, and on such other terms as the court deems fits to impose.
“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 particularized 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 reasonable sum of money to be fixed by the court for his expense and loss of time.
“The Court may refuse to enforce the attendance of a witness unless such sum has been fixed and deposited in the court.
“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.”
