Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has thrown out an ex-parte plea filed by Nnamdi Kanu, the convicted leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), asking for his relocation from the Sokoto Correctional Facility.
Demdoo Asan, Kanu’s lawyer and a senior legal officer with the Legal Aid Council, told the court today that he wanted to withdraw from the case because of concerns that could not be resolved, according to Channels TV.
He said that since the last time the case was put on hold, he had been in daily phone contact with the applicant’s family.
But the relatives didn’t show up at the Legal Aid office to testify about the application, even though they had promised to and called.
Demdoo also said that Kanu wanted to dominate the proceedings and what the lawyers would say in court.
“He wants to write down what I would say in court.” “But as a court officer, I can’t honestly accept that,” he continued.
He also said that after talking to his bosses, they agreed with him.
“We do what we think is best when a case comes to us as officers of the court. If the applicant doesn’t like it, they can get legal help somewhere else,” Demdoo added.
He then used Order 50, Rule 1 of the Federal High Court Rules to formally ask to be removed from the case.
Justice Omotosho praised the lawyer for respecting the court’s dignity in his decision.
He let Demdoo and the Legal Aid Council stop representing the defendant.
The judge also said that the motion was not valid. But for the sake of fairness and justice, he told the other people involved to be notified.
He said that since the last court session on December 8, 2025, there had been no proof of service in front of the court.
After that, Justice Omotosho said that the ex-parte motion should be thrown out since it wasn’t competent.
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