Justice Omotosho: I Vacated Courtroom for Kanu’s Private Talk Despite No Proof of DSS Recording -

According to a report by Punch on Thursday, October 23, 2025, Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court has urged the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, to open his defence, dismissing his claims that the Department of State Services (DSS) secretly recorded his conversations with his lawyers.

Delivering his remarks on Thursday, Justice Omotosho recalled that, in the spirit of fair hearing, he vacated his courtroom on Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. to allow Kanu and his legal team to hold a private consultation session. He said this gesture was made despite the absence of any evidence to support Kanu’s allegation that the DSS was eavesdropping on his discussions while in detention.

“In the spirit of fair hearing, I vacated this courtroom to enable the defendant and his lawyers to have a private consultation, even though there was no proof of any recording by the DSS,” Justice Omotosho stated.

The judge noted that all the issues Kanu raised in his Thursday submission had already been addressed in the court’s earlier ruling on September 26, when it dismissed his no-case submission. He reminded Kanu that the court had ruled he had a case to answer, thereby granting him the constitutional opportunity to present his defence.

“On September 26, 2025, I considered those issues and held that he has a case to answer,” the judge said. “This was to enable him exercise his right to fair hearing to make his case.”

Justice Omotosho emphasized that although the issues raised by the defendant had been previously determined, Kanu was not foreclosed from raising them again in his final written address. He then called on him to begin his defence rather than continue objecting to the court’s jurisdiction.

“I call upon and appeal to the defendant to open his defence,” the judge said. “I beg the defendant, in the name of the Almighty God, to comport himself and conduct his defence. This is the opportunity that the Constitution gives him under Section 36. It is a right that he can exercise or waive, either expressly or by conduct.”