The lawyers of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu staged a walkout on Wednesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja after some of them were denied access to the courtroom by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Kanu, who was brought into the courtroom around 9:52 am, decried the refusal of security agents to allow some members of his legal team, especially his lawyer from the United States Bruce Fein, to enter the courtroom.
According to Kanu, Mr. Fein is handling a case for him in the US.
When asked by the judge, if he was ready to conduct the proceedings himself, in the absence of his lawyers, Kanu replied in the negative.
But the Federal Government’s counsel Mohamed Abubakar urged the court to proceed with the trial.
Abubakar told the court that the matter was fixed for hearing of an application that was filed by the defendant.
He argued that since Kanu’s lead counsel, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, who was initially inside the courtroom, walked out with his team shortly before the arrival of the judge, his pending application should be deemed abandoned.
Justice Binta Nyako expressed his displeasure over the conduct of Kanu’s lawyers, but she declined to dismiss the pending application.
She, however, adjourned the case till January 19 and 20, 2022, for trial.
