The Court of Appeal has clarified that the transfer of 21 Justices of the court to various divisions in the country is a routine exercise which has nothing to do with the judgment that discharged and quashed the terrorism charges against the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.
The appellate court was responding to media reports which attributed the transfer of the 21 out of its 81 to its judgment on Nnamdi Kanu
In a statement by the Chief Registrar, Malam Umar Mohammed Bangari, the court clarified that the postings was a routine exercise aimed at reinvigorating the justice delivery of the Court.
The statement equally explained that only one Justice out of the three that handled Kanu’s matter was affected by the postings.
The statement read in part “The attention of the Court of Appeal has been drawn to a publication in the media on Monday October 24, 2022 with a caption “Nnamdi Kanu: 3 Justices on Appeal Court Panel Transferred”
“The publication in question conveyed the innuendo to the effect that the recent postings of Justices of the Court of Appeal were in connection with or in response to the judgment of the Court of 13th October 2022 in Nnamdi Kanu Versus the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“We wish to state categorically that the general postings of the Justices of the Court of Appeal under reference were routine and aimed at reinvigorating the justice delivery system of the Court.
“In fact, 21 out of 81 Justices including 6 Presiding Justices of the Court were affected by the general postings.
“It is therefore incorrect to insinuate that the Honourable Justices who delivered the judgment in the Nnamdi Kanu appeal were the targets of the routine posting exercise.
“A few minutes of inquiry by the media could have clarified the fact.
“We appeal to the media to exercise restraint and circumspection in reporting matters pertaining to the Court and its operations.
“The Court of Appeal has an open door policy of providing easy access to the media to make inquiries and seek clarification on any matters of interest to the media for the benefit of the general public.
(Sun)