Alleged Terrorism: Court Orders AGF to Pay Kanu’s Co- defendants N200,000 for Truncating Trial

Alex Enumah in Abuja

A Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday imposed a fine of N200, 000 on the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice because of the inconveniences suffered by four co-defendants in the terrorism charge leveled against the Leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mr. Nnamdi Kanu.

The four defendants are Mr. Bright Chimezie, Mr. Chidiebere Onwudike, Mr. Benjamin Maduagwu and Mr. David Nwaurusi.

The Trial Judge, Justice Binta Nyako, in a short ruling ordered that the fine should be used to pay N50,000 each to the four defendants by the AGF for the inconveniences they have suffered as a result of the absence of the Lead Counsel to the Federal Government, Mr. Shuaib Labaran.

The court ruled that the fine must be paid to the defendants before the next adjourned date of March 17, 2022.

They four defendants complained bitterly through their lawyer over the hardships they suffered to raise funds for their transportation to Abuja.

When the matter came up yesterday, there was no legal representation for the federal government.

However, as the judge was about to take adjournment, one Mrs. Adewumi Aluko from the Federal Ministry of Justice came in and apologised that the federal government’s lead counsel was out of the country.

Aluko sought for an adjournment even though two witnesses were in court because she would not want to proceed in the absence of the lead counsel.

However, her apology did not go down well with the judge who counseled the federal government to be more serious in the trial of the defendants.

The judge also counseled to the defense lawyers to stop using frivolous applications to delay the trial, which was started in 2015.