The Department of State Services (DSS) has tightened security both inside and outside the Federal High Court in Abuja as the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), is set to recommence today.
News About Nigeria reports that the trial, which had been suspended, is being reinstated following the Court of Appeal’s decision in October 2022, wherein Kanu was discharged and acquitted.
The appellate court not only cleared Kanu of charges but also ruled that his abduction from Kenya to Nigeria was illegal and unlawful, nullifying the terrorism charges laid against him by the Federal Government.
Despite this verdict, the Federal Government filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, challenging the decision of the Court of Appeal.
In a judgement delivered on December 15, 2023, the Supreme Court directed the resumption of Kanu’s trial on terrorism charges.
Nnamdi Kanu has been in the custody of the Department of State Services since June 2021, following his repatriation from Kenya to Nigeria.
In anticipation of the trial’s resumption, security measures were tightened today, with thorough checks conducted at multiple checkpoints.
Journalists, litigants, and court staff were subjected to screening and searches at a minimum of four points, starting from the road leading to the Ministry of Justice.
Meanwhile, human rights activist and candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections, Omoyele Sowore, called for the release of Nnamdi Kanu.
Speaking in an interview on Arise Television, Sowore noted that it was time to let reasoning prevail because the continuous detention of Kanu does not make sense.
Sowore further stated that if there is no justice in Nigeria, it would be impossible to have peace and progress in the country.
He further tasked the Bola Tinubu-led administration to quit fighting the battles that former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration started.
