Justice Binta Nyako, a judge of the Federal High Court, has recused herself from presiding over the case of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
A recuse means a judge excusing himself or herself from a case because of a potential conflict of interest or a perception of bias.
At the resumed court session on Tuesday, Kanu directly told Nyako that he no longer had confidence in her handling of his trial.
Adegboyega Awomolo, counsel to the federal government, had told the court that he had a witness in court and was ready to proceed with trial.
Awomolo had also sought the protection of the witness.
While the court was setting up a protection screen to shield the witness, Alloy Ejimakor, counsel to Kanu, told the court that his team was not ready to proceed with the trial.
Ejimakor said his client has consistently been denied the opportunity to prepare adequately for his defence.
Although the prosecution urged the court to proceed with the trial, Nyako said she would go with extricating herself from the case.
She said she would be sending the case file back to the chief judge for reassignment and further necessary actions.
“I hereby recuse myself and remit the case-file back to the chief judge,” she held.
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