Biafra leader's trial stalled over magistrate father's death

dimeji akinloye

December 1, 2015 9:20 PM

The registrar, Salisu Yinusa, said the magistrate, Usman Shuaibu, had to travel to prepare for his father's burial.

Nnamdi Kanu

The case brought against the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) , Nnamdi Kanu by the State Security Service (SSS) was stalled on Tuesday, Dec. 1 due to the death of the magistrate’s father.

It case was on November 23 adjourned till December 1 for ruling.

Kanu is facing trial on allegations of criminal conspiracy, engaging in unlawful society and criminal intimidation, which violate Section 97, 97B and 397 of the penal code.

The registrar, Salisu Yinusa, said the magistrate, Usman Shuaibu, had to travel to prepare for his father's burial.

Though effort to seek the magistrate's permission, over the phone, on fixing a new date proved abortive, the court went ahead to fix December 16 for ruling on the matter.

“Counsel to both parties came here and even tried reaching him (the magistrate) to know if a date could be fixed but we could not get through to him.

“So the December 16 date is tentative,” Yinusa said.

Al though, Kanu did not appear in court today, one of his lawyers, Marcel Dim-Udebuani, however said his client is fine with the development as long as the eventual judgement is favourable.

“We hope that when the matter is slated for hearing, the ruling would have been ready and the magistrate would be in the right frame of mind after all of this to issue his ruling,” he told Premium Times.

In the last sitting, SSS had requested for postponement of the case, claiming it had found 'fresh facts'.

dimeji akinloye