ABUJA — High courtroom drama erupted on Thursday after Trial Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, ordered security operatives to forcibly remove detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, for repeatedly disrupting proceedings in his terrorism case.
Trouble started when Kanu, who has been in custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), loudly insisted that the court could not deliver judgement without first admitting his written address. He demanded that the trial judge point to any law that barred him from filing the address, shouting over the judge and bringing proceedings to a halt.
Unable to proceed, Justice Omotosho paused the session and directed security agents to take the IPOB leader out of the courtroom.
The commotion followed the judge’s ruling dismissing a set of fresh motions filed by Kanu after the matter had already been fixed for judgement. The court held that the issues raised were a repetition of earlier arguments and therefore incompetent.
Justice Omotosho also refused Kanu’s application to refer the case to the Court of Appeal, citing Section 306 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, which prohibits stay of proceedings in criminal trials. His renewed request for bail was similarly rejected, with the court stating that some of the concerns raised would be addressed during the final judgement.
However, as the judge attempted to begin reading the long-awaited decision, Kanu again rose, shouting that the court lacked jurisdiction to proceed without accepting his written address — a confrontation that triggered the judge’s directive for him to be bundled out.
