Tuesday March 22, 2016
The federal government urged the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, the
nation’s capital to dismiss the suit instituted by Nnamdi Kanu – Nnamdi
Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, along with other
agitators instituted a suit against
the federal government calling their release.
They asked the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, not to continue
with their trial, until the determination of their consolidated appeal.
The three men said that Justice John Tsoho did not accept hearing the
trial. He only allowed the prosecution council to shield the identity of
the eight witnesses, that would testify in the case. Justice Tsoho at
the same time, refused to discharge and acquit the three men, citing the
prayer under section 351(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice
Act, 2015.
The three agitators’ lawyer, Chief Chuks Muoma, SAN, opined that the
trial judge, Justice Tsoho, made some mistakes, “when having refused the
application for the witnesses of the prosecution to testified behind
screens, or masked,” on February 19, “suddenly varied the said order in
the ruling delivered on March 7, 2016, on a mere oral application by the
respondent.”
They said this was on what was in tandem with the mere oral application
by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mr. Mohammed Diri. In the
DPP’s submission, he said: “My lord this is because they are already
receiving threats from associates of the defendants that they will be
dealt with.
The witnesses said they love their lives and requested that their
identities be shielded from people who are coming to witness the
proceeding.”
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