Members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have allegedly kicked off a plan to intimidate judges, preventing them from handling the terrorism case against the group’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu, sources informed POLITICS NIGERIA.
Sources familiar with the plot said the outlawed group are planning to use the media to intimidate judges handling Kanu’s case.
“They know the media is central and you know this is a political season. The plan is to bombard the media with smear campaigns,” one of the sources confided.
It was also gathered that the intention is to scare the judicial officers from handling the case or those already involved to recuse themselves from it.
Another top source disclosed that some media organisations have been engaged and this may give rise to some reports critical of the judges.
Although POLITICS NIGERIA could not ascertain the media platforms engaged, it reliably gathered that the campaigns may last a month or more.
This development comes amid a rift between Kanu’s lawyers, Bruce Fein and Ifeanyi Ejiofor.
Recall that this news medium reported that Kanu is considering overhauling his legal team owing to dissatisfaction with factions contending to represent him and IPOB.
This newspaper confidently reported that the conflict and relevance battle is between Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor and Barrister Aloy Ejimakor. Kanu’s brother Kingsley ‘Kanunta’ Kanu is siding with Ejimakor.
The separatist leader is accused of terrorism and has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since June 2021.
Recently, the Court of Appeal in Abuja struck out the terrorism charges filed against Kanu by the Nigerian government and ordered his release from the custody of the Department of State Service (SSS).
The Court ruled that the IPOB leader was “extraordinarily renditioned” to Nigeria and that the action was a flagrant violation of the country’s extradition treaty and also a breach of his fundamental human rights.
But Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami, argued that the court only discharged Kanu and did not acquit him.
