Ifeanyi Ejiofor, one of the lawyers of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has narrated what actually transpired at the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, leading to the adjournment of the secessionist leader’s trial by Justice Binta Nyako.
Ejiofor, who appeared on Arise TV on Thursday, a day after the appearance of Nnamdi Kanu in court, said the legal team did not walk out on Nyako.
Justice Nyako was forced to adjourn the case till January 19, 2022, due to the absence of Kanu’s legal team.
Kanu had earlier on Wednesday engaged the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) in a shouting match inside the courtroom when he observed the absence of his legal team.
However, the defence team, led by Ejiofor was nowhere to be found, prompting Nyako to demand their whereabouts.
Kanu in response told the judge that his lawyers were protesting against the denial of access to his US lawyer, Mr Bruce Fein.
‘There was no walkout in the court, what happened was that lawyers were denied access into the courtroom. It happened last adjourned date and we brought this to the attention of the court. We mentioned our frustration to the court,’ the lawyer said.
‘Not only lawyers, the media were not allowed to come in too. We were trying to solve it outside the court; I narrowly escaped being lynched by my colleagues last adjourned date. So we were trying to resolve it because it is something we consider worrying. The courtroom is our jurisdiction, where we belong.’
Asked why his colleagues wanted to lynch him, he explained, ‘Because I didn’t kind of [sic] protest on their behalf. And I told them I mentioned to the court what happened to them. So this time around, I said let me resolve it.
‘All of us, we were at the door court, discussing it, trying to resolve this issue, and our bags were inside the courtroom. So, there was no walkout whatsoever.’
Ejiofor added that there was an order from the court not to allow them in.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
