• Rejects Kanu’s statements in the absence of his lawyers
Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday, issued an order barring a lady, identified as Favour, from attending proceedings in the ongoing terrorism trial of Nnamdi Kanu, the self-acclaimed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
 
The fair-complexioned lady, said to be sister-in-law to Kanu, was also barred from further entering the premises of the court in Abuja, except where she was personally involved in any case in the court.
 
Justice James Omotosho issued the orders after holding her in contempt of the court for engaging in live broadcast and publicity of the court’s proceedings on her social media platform.
 
Justice Omotosho noted that Favour was in the habit of publishing live what was happening in the court while proceedings were on and inviting comments from her followers.
 
The judge said Favour’s conduct was disrespectful of the institution of the court and amounted to contempt in the face of the court.
 
Justice Omotosho threatened to order Favour’s arrest should she persist in her contemptuous conduct.

The judge, who ordered her out of the court, noted that the latest was the third time Favour engaged in an unauthorised publication of proceedings while the court was in session.
 
In an earlier ruling, Justice Omotosho upheld the objection raised by Kanu’s legal team to the admissibility of statements obtained from the defendant by officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) in the absence of his lawyers.
 
The judge held that the statements were not admissible because the DSS failed to comply with the provision of Section 17(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, which he said, made it mandatory that a suspect’s lawyer or any person of his/her choice must be available when he/she is to write a statement.
 
Justice Omotosho proceeded to mark the statements rejected and also expunged from the court’s record, the video recordings of the interview/statement writing sessions that Kanu had with DSS officials in October 2015.
 
The video recordings were earlier admitted in evidence by the court during Wednesday’s proceedings and marked: Exhibits PWQ and PWR.