Kanu in Court as DSS takes over premises

Operatives of the Department of State Services have beefed up security inside and outside the Federal High Court in Abuja as the court is expected to commence the trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, today. The matter was suspended after the Court of Appeal discharged and acquitted Kanu in October 2022. The appellate court also declared illegal and unlawful, the abduction of Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria and quashed the terrorism charges brought against him by the Federal Government.

However, the FG appealed against the judgment at the apex court. The Supreme Court in its judgment on December 15, 2023, ordered the continuation of the trial of Kanu on terrorism charges. Kanu has been in DSS detention since June 2021 when he was repatriated from Kenya to Nigeria. Before entering the court premises, journalists, litigants, and court staff were searched at a minimum of four checkpoints, starting from the road to the Ministry of Justice.