The Court of Appeal headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday made it clear that the movement of its 21 Justices to various regions across the country is routine and not connected with the court's recent decision that discharged and acquitted the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu of terrorism charges.
The Appellate Court stated that the posting of 21 of its 81 Justices was a standard procedure intended to reenergize the Court's administration of justice.
The court was reacting to media reports which claimed that the three justices who gave the October 13 ruling ordering Kanu's release from custody had been relocated.
Malam Umar Mohammed Bangari, the
court's chief registrar, in a statement, said
that only one Justice out of the three who handled Kanu's case was affected by the postings.
The statement read in part, “The attention of the Court of Appeal has been drawn to a publication in the media on Monday, October 24, 2022, with the caption “Nnamdi Kanu: 3 Justices on Appeal Court Panel Transferred”
“The publication in question conveyed the innuendo to the effect that the recent postings of Justices of the Court of Appeal were in connection with or in response to the judgment of the Court of 13th October 2022 in Nnamdi Kanu Versus the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
"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.
“21 out of 81 Justices including 6 Presiding Justices of the Court were affected by the general postings.
“It is therefore incorrect to insinuate that the Honourable Justices who delivered the judgment in the Nnamdi Kanu appeal were the targets of the routine posting exercise.
"A few minutes of inquiry by the media could have clarified the fact.
“We appeal to the media to exercise restraint and circumspection in reporting matters about the Court and its operations.
“The Court of Appeal has an open door policy of providing easy access to the media to make inquiries and seek clarification on any matters of interest to the media for the benefit of the general public.”
“Details of the recent postings are available in the office of the Chief Registrar of the court for verification…”
The Appeal Cort in a unanimous judgment, on Thursday, 13th October 2022 accused the FG of flagrantly breaking all known laws when it forcefully extradited Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria to continue his prosecution.
It said that the Federal Government's actions stained the entire process it started against Kanu and constituted "an abuse of criminal prosecution in general."
"The court will never shy away from calling the Executive to order when it tilts towards Executive recklessness”, the appellate court held, even as it accused the Federal Government of engaging in “serious abuse of power”, the appellate court declared.
However, the Federal Government has said that it does not want to release Nnamdi Kanu and has approached the Court of Appeal asking for a stay of execution of the judgment that discharged and acquitted the IPOB leader of terrorism charges.
In an affidavit it submitted to the Court of Appeal, in support of its request to stay the judgment's execution, the Federal Government referred to Kanu as "a flight risk person" and insisted that the case against him raises national security concerns.
"Once the security of the nation is in jeopardy, the individual right may not even exist”, the Federal Government argued through its lawyer, Mr. David Kaswe, an Assistant State Counsel in the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
After hearing arguments in favor and against the federal government's appeal on Monday, a three-man panel of the appellate court said that the date for its decision had been reserved and will be communicated to the parties to the lawsuit.
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