Trial of leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu may be tried in secret as Chief Judge of the Federal High Court (FHC) in Abuja, Justice John Tsoho, releases a new practice direction for the trial of terrorism suits before the Court, such as the case of Nnamdi Kanu.
Justice Tsoho stated that the new practice direction is in the exercise of his constitutional powers as contained in Section 254 of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). Under the new arrangement, the court said media coverage of proceedings is strictly prohibited, “except as may be directed by the court.” Kanu is expected to appear in court today, Friday, in continuation of his trial. His outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) organization is agitating for the secession of a swath of the southeast that is home to the Igbo ethnic group. The idea of Biafra first sprouted almost six decades ago. After a pogrom unleashed against people of Igbo descent in northern Nigeria, Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the military governor of eastern Nigeria, pulled the predominantly Igbo region out of the country. It survived all of 30 months, and by the time the war ended in 1970, more than a million people had died.