The Court of Appeal Headquarters in Abuja has clarified the rumours that the transfer of the three-judge panel that cleared Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, of all terrorism-related charges brought against him by the Federal Government.
The media had earlier reported that a
three-man panel led by Justice Jummai Hannatu, from Gombe Division, slammed
FG’s executive ‘lawlessness’ while discharging the IPOB leader.
But a number of media
platforms reported afterward that the 3
Justices on the Appeal Court Panel in question were transferred.
Our source reported that the FG's appeal for a stay of execution before the same Court of Appeal on Monday was heard by a fresh panel presided over by Justice Haruna S.
In a statement that our correspondent was able to receive from the Chief Registrar, Umar M. Bangari Esq., he stated that only one member of the panel had been transferred, addressing the reports on transfer.
Bangari stated that the relocation was just part of the regular schedule and had nothing to do with the Kanu case.
"The publications in question communicated the implication to the effect that the recent postings of justices of the Court of Appeal were in conjunction with, or in response to, the judgment of the Court of Appeal of October 13, 2022, in Nnamdi Kanu V.," the statement reads in part.
The statement continued “We wish to state categorically that the general postings of the Justices of the Court of Appeal under reference were routine and aimed at reinvigorating the justice delivery system of the Court.
“In fact, 21 out of 81 Justices, including 6 Presiding Justices of the Court, were affected by the postings. Indeed, of the 3 Justices that sat and determined the said Appeal, only one was affected by the general postings.
“It is therefore
incorrect and uncharitable to insinuate that the Hon. Justices who delivered
the judgment in the Nnamdi Kanu Appeal were the targets of the routine posting
exercise.”
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