The family of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has called for sanctions against the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, and Justice Binta Nyako, accusing them of disobeying court orders.
In a statement released in Abuja and signed by Kanu’s brother, Emmanuel Kanu, the family criticized the judges for allegedly undermining the judiciary through their refusal to comply with rulings favoring Kanu’s release. The statement highlighted key judicial pronouncements from both Nigerian courts and international bodies, all of which, it claimed, supported Kanu’s freedom.
Kanu, however, welcomed the intervention of Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, in reassigning his case to what he described as a competent and impartial judge.
“We appreciate the CJN’s timely intervention in ensuring that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s decade-long sham trial is assigned to a competent judge free from bias,” he stated.
He further expressed dismay that it took public pressure and the involvement of Nigeria’s highest judicial officer for Justice Nyako to comply with her own order of recusal.
“In any country that upholds the rule of law, both Justice John Tsoho and Justice Binta Nyako should be sanctioned for tarnishing the judiciary’s reputation,” the statement added.
