Absence of judge stalls IPOB suit at Federal High Court

IPOB accuses the federal government of ordering Justice Abdul Kafarati to stay away from court The group describes the ex-parte order that proscribed and designated it a terror group as a black market order – The federal government of Nigeria accuses Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe of hiding the leader of the IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu The attempt by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to challenge the federal government’s court order which designated it as a terrorist organisation suffered a setback following the absence of the judge who was supposed to preside over the matter.

Reacting to the absence of Justice Abdul Kafarati of the Federal High Court, the pro-Biafra group accused the federal government of ordering the judge to stay away from the court, This Day reports. The spokesperson for the group, Emma Powerful, in a statement on Monday, October 23, said the absence of the defendants, including the presiding judge from the same court where they had obtained an exparte order, branding it as a terrorist organisation was worrisome. He said: “It took the Attorney General of Nigeria, Chief of Defence Staff, Nigerian Army, South-east governors and Ohaneze Ndigbo less than 30 minutes to obtain their black market ex-parte order proscribing and designating IPOB a terror group.

Today at the same Federal High Court Abuja, the same judge in the person Justice Kafarati has run away from hearing the case he himself fixed for hearing this morning, knowing full well the world is waiting for the outcome of his considered judgment given that he now has the opportunity to hear from both parties.”

The federal government of Nigeria has accused Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe of hiding the leader of the Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, from justice. The government denied that Kanu is in the Nigerian army’s custody or any other security operatives custody. The federal government in a counter-affidavit and written address filed before the court to counter Abaribe’s request said that the senator knows exactly where to find the missing defendant, Kanu.

Kess Ewubare