The Court of Appeal has refuted media reports that it transferred the three justices that discharged and quashed the terrorism charges against the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu on October 13, 2022.
The appellate court said that only one out of the alleged 3 judges that handled Kanu’s case was affected by the new postings.
This disclosure is contained in a statement issued by the Chief Registrar of the court, Malam Umar Mohammed Bangari, who said that the transfer of 21 out of the 81 justices of the court of appeal was a routine exercise aimed at reinvigorating the justice delivery of the Court.
The statement appealed to the media to exercise restraint and circumspection in reporting matters pertaining to the Court and its operations, adding that the court has an open-door policy of providing easy access to the media to make inquiries and seek clarification on any matters of interest to the media for the benefit of the general public.
What the Appeal Court Chief Registrar is saying
The statement from Bangari partly reads, “The attention of the Court of Appeal has been drawn to a publication in the media on Monday, October 24, 2022, with the caption ‘Nnamdi Kanu: 3 Justices on Appeal Court Panel Transferred’.
“The publication in question conveyed the innuendo to the effect that the recent postings of Justices of the Court of Appeal were in connection with or in response to the judgment of the Court of 13th October 2022 in Nnamdi Kanu Versus the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“We wish to state categorically that the general postings of the Justices of the Court of Appeal under reference were routine and aimed at reinvigorating the justice delivery system of the Court. In fact, 21 out of 81 Justices including 6 Presiding Justices of the Court were affected by the general postings.
“It is therefore incorrect to insinuate that the Honourable Justices who delivered the judgment in the Nnamdi Kanu appeal were the targets of the routine posting exercise. A few minutes of inquiry by the media could have clarified the fact.
“We appeal to the media to exercise restraint and circumspection in reporting matters pertaining to the Court and its operations. The Court of Appeal has an open door policy of providing easy access to the media to make inquiries and seek clarification on any matters of interest to the media for the benefit of the general public.”
What you should know
- Recall that a few days ago, there were reports that the 3 Justices that sat on the Court of Appeal panel that quashed the 15-count terrorism charge the Federal Government preferred against Nnamdi Kanu, have been transferred from their various divisions.
- The reports revealed that the 3 appellate court justices were transferred 4 days after they delivered the judgment that discharged the embattled IPOB leader.