…Police Rearrest Sowore, Citing Breach of Court Orders

Detained leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has fired all members of his legal team. Kanu, who announced the decision yesterday, told the court that he was willing and ready to conduct his own case.

Meanwhile, the police, yesterday, arrested activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele SoworeOmoyele Sowore, after he appeared in court for Kanu The police explained that he was taken into custody for allegedly leading protesters into a restricted area in Abuja, in defiance of a subsisting court order.

At the resumed hearing in Kanu’s terrorism trial yesterday before a Federal High Court in Abuja, the prosecuting lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), announced his team for the prosecution.

When it was time for the defendant’s legal team to announce its appearance, the leader of the team, Kanu Agabi (SAN), stood up and told the court they were only present out of respect for the court.

Kanu chipped in that they were in court to formally announce their withdrawal from further participating in the trial. Agabi explained that the reason for their decision was because “the defendant has taken this case back from us and we respect that”. He gave the names of the other senior advocates, who were also withdrawing, to include: Onyechi Ikpeazu, Joseph Akubo, Paul Erokoro, Emeka Etiaba and one other.

Following Agabi’s announcement, Justice James Omotosho turned to Kanu, who was in the dock, for his response.

Kanu confirmed sacking all his lawyersKanu confirmed sacking all his lawyers and told the court that he was willing and ready to conduct his own case.

Justice Omotosho then ordered other members of the defendant’s legal team, who were in court, except the SANs, to vacate the courtroom immediately, a directive they promptly complied with.

The judge then turned to the defendant and asked him to present his case.  Kanu commenced by indicating his intention to make an oral submission, an indulgence the judge granted him despite opposition from Awomolo.

He said he would not open his defence as ordered by the court, because he was questioning the jurisdiction of the court to try him, adding: “This is a jurisdictional issue that goes to the heart of this case.” He hinged his objection to the court’s jurisdiction on four grounds, the first being his claim that the Federal Government, through prosecution, was in contempt of a Court of Appeal judgment, which he said ordered his acquittal.

Kanu argued that for the court to grant the prosecution audience, it (prosecution) must first comply with the said Court of Appeal judgment. He said the second ground was that the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act 2013 and the Customs and Excise Act, under which the charge against him was brought, were repealed laws.

On the third ground, he claimed to have been denied a fair hearing, as his continued detention in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) denied him the opportunity for adequate consultation with his lawyers to enable him to prepare for his defence.

He hinged the fourth ground on his claim that the medical report submitted to the court by a medical team empanelled by the president of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), which certified him fit to stand trial, was forged.

Kanu denied being examined by any medical team and that his blood and urine samples were never obtained for analysis.He urged the court to declare the proceedings void and order his immediate release in line with the Court of Appeal judgment.

Reacting, Awomolo said Kanu deserved no formal response from the prosecution because all the allegations he made ought to be put down in the form of a sworn affidavit, effectively demonstrating them to enable the other party to respond appropriately.

He faulted Kanu’s claim that a Court of Appeal’s decision acquitted him, arguing that the said judgment was set aside by the Supreme Court in a judgment delivered on December 15, 2023.

The prosecuting lawyer also faulted Kanu’s claim that his right to a fair hearing had been breached. He also argued that Kanu’s claim that the medical report was forged was an indictment of the senior lawyers in his legal team, who saw the report and found no fault in it.

Therefore, he prayed that the judge determine all the issues that Kanu raised in his submission when delivering the final judgment. In his intervention, Justice Omotosho noted that when the medical report was brought up in court on October 16, he sought the views of the lawyers representing both parties, who did not raise any objections to the report.

He said that since the report has been admitted by the court and acted upon, the court could no longer go back on it; hence, the decision taken by the court, based on the medical report, stands.

However, drama ensued outside the courtroom as one of the attendees, Sowore, was whisked away by armed policemen shortly after he made an appearance for Kanu.

Sowore, the frontline agitator for Kanu’s release from detention, was accosted by security operatives who insisted that he accompany them to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command.

Asked what his offence was, one of the officers explained that they were executing an order from the Commissioner of Police.  Although he inquired about the absence of a letter of invitation, Sowore, who maintained that his lawyer must accompany him, was taken away in a police van.

THE Force Public Relations Officer (FPRP), CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, who addressed journalists in Abuja, said the activist would be charged in court once investigations are concluded.

“Today, Omoyele Sowore has been arrested by the Nigerian Police Force. You may ask why he was arrested. The reason is straightforward. The 13 people previously arrested all mentioned that Sowore led them into the restricted area, in clear contravention of the court order,” Hundeyin explained. He added that it would be unjust to prosecute those earlier arrested while leaving out the person alleged to have led them.

According to him, eight persons were initially arrested on Monday in the Transcorp area of Abuja, while five others were picked up around the Ministry of Finance, bringing the total number of suspects to 13.