A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has Okayed the Federal Government demand to shield identities of witnesses paraded to testify against the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. The presiding Judge, Justice James Omotosho gave the approval in a ruling he delivered on this afternoon.
This is coming after an ex-parte application was filed on behalf of the FG filed through its team of prosecutors led by Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN.
Accordingly, the court instructed that for the proposed witnesses to testify behind a screen with their real names replaced with acronyms.
According to the FG’s lawyer, Awomolo, SAN, the identities of the witnesses need to be protected for the witness’s security reasons and in view of the serious nature of the case.
Although, the witnesses would be shielded away from the public, but they would however be seen by the judge.
Meanwhile, Kanu team of lawyers also Okayed the request the team led by a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN.
Sequel to the ruling, FG opened its case against the embattled IPOB leader by presenting its first witness, who was simply identified as PWAAA.
Kanu, whose trial started de-novo (afresh), was necessitated by the reassignment of his case-file to a fresh judge, Justice Omotosho, after he pleaded not guilty to a seven-count treasonable felony charge the government preferred against him.
Recall Justice Binta Nyako, who previously presided over the trial, recused herself from the matter after she was accused of being bias by the Kanu defense lawyer.
The IPOB leader was first arrested in Lagos on October 14, 2015, upon his return to the country from the United Kingdom, UK.
On April 25, 2017, the court granted him bail on health ground, after he had spent about 18 months in detention.
Upon the perfection of the bail conditions, he was on April 28, 2017, released from the Kuje prison to a surety in person of Senator Abaribe.
However, midway into the trial, Kanu escaped from the country after soldiers launched operation ‘python Dance” in his country home at Afara Ukwu Ibeku in Umuahia, Abia State, an operation that led to the death of some of his followers.
Subsequently, on June 19, 2021 and extraordinarily performance in Kenya, Kanu was rearrested and re-routed back to the country by security agents on June 27, 2021.
Although, an Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, on October 13, 2022, ordered Kanu’s be released from detention even as it quashed the charge against him.
However, the decision of the court that the FG approach the Supreme Court in an appeal as last arbiter, even as it persuaded the appellate court to suspend the execution of the judgment, pending the determination of its appeal.
On the contrary, the Supreme Court, on December 15, 2023, vacated the judgment of the appellate court and gave FG the nod to try the IPOB leader on the subsisting seven-count charge.