Justice Musa Liman of the Federal High Court in Abuja has declined to rule on an application filed by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), seeking urgent medical transfer to the National Hospital.
Liman, on Monday, sent the case file back to the chief judge for reassignment after noting that the court’s annual vacation ends today.
Kanu’s counsel, Uchenna Njoku, SAN, had applied for the matter to be heard during the vacation, citing the IPOB leader’s deteriorating health.
But the judge said the motion was filed late, leaving insufficient time for the vacation court to decide it.
Justice Liman said: “No less than 30 cases were listed for today’s proceedings and only six could be taken.
“In line with Section 46(8) of the federal high court rules, any case that cannot be completed within vacation must be sent back to the chief judge for reassignment.”
Njoku did not oppose the decision after conferring with DSS counsel Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, and requested an adjournment.
Njoku also noted that he had only just been served the DSS’s counter affidavit and needed time to review it.
Awomolo said the application came too late but assured the court that the DSS was prepared to take the motion “any time, any day.”
In the motion filed by Kanu’s legal team, led by Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, doctors reported that Kanu’s health had worsened, with complications involving his pancreas, liver, and a lump under his armpit, alongside dangerously low potassium levels.
The doctors recommended his urgent transfer to the National Hospital, but a letter to the DSS Director-General on the matter went unanswered.
The case will now be reassigned for hearing when the Federal High Court resumes full session.
