Binta Nyako’s Indefinite Adjournment, Illegal, unconstitutional

Binta Nyako’s Indefinite Adjournment, Illegal, unconstitutional  In the ever-dramatic courtroom circus that is the trial of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu...

Binta Nyako’s Indefinite Adjournment, Illegal, unconstitutional 

In the ever-dramatic courtroom circus that is the trial of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Justice Binta Nyako has once again pulled a legal stunt that defies both logic and the law. Having once recused herself from the case, she has now magically reappeared to grant an indefinite adjournment a move as legally sound as using a sieve to fetch water.  

Let’s get one thing straight: when a judge recuses him/herself from a case, they effectively sign out of it like an employee handing in their resignation letter. The law is crystal clear on this. Once a judge steps aside, they lose the authority to make any further pronouncements on the case. Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria guarantees the right to a fair hearing before an impartial judge. But how can a judge be impartial when they have already admitted to a conflict of interest by recusing themselves?  

Furthermore, the Supreme Court of Nigeria has repeatedly upheld that once a judge voluntarily withdraws from a case, only a higher court can reverse that decision. Until such a reversal happens, any action taken by the judge is null, void, and of no legal effect like trying to cash a bounced cheque.

But something even more special about this recusal of Nyako is that it is between her and Nnamdi Kanu(the defendant). So, even if she appeals her recusal, it is still possible that the defendant can insist on her remaining recused from his case. This is why Justice Nyako should rightly backdown as she has earlier stated, irrespective. Yet, here we are, witnessing her exercising powers she no longer possesses, as though she were presiding over a village square meeting rather than a constitutional court.  

Justice Nyako’s actions remind one of the proverbial "monkey that left its banana to chase a falling leaf". She stepped aside but has now returned, not to deliver justice, but to keep Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in legal limbo. If courts were governed by personal whims rather than the law, then why have a legal system at all? Should we just declare the courtroom a drama stage and let the judge play whatever role she pleases?  

The doctrine of "Nemo judex in causa sua"  (meaning no one should be a judge in their own case) is a fundamental principle in law. If Nyako recused herself because of bias or external influence, then her subsequent return is as dubious as a goat declaring itself the chairman of a yam farmers’ association.

By indefinitely adjourning a case she no longer has jurisdiction over, Justice Nyako has essentially placed justice in the freezer without electricity. Which is sure to rot and stink to high heavens. This is not just an insult to legal principles; it is a blatant mockery of the rule of law.  

Indefinite adjournment is a judicial trick akin to saying “I’ll get back to you” in an argument when you know you have no answer. It is a deliberate delay tactic, a slap in the face of due process, and a clear attempt to keep Mazi Nnamdi Kanu locked away without a fair trial. What happened to the constitutional provision that mandates a trial within a reasonable time?

For a government that claims to uphold democracy, this is nothing short of authoritarian lawfare using the courts as weapons rather than as arbiters of justice. Nigeria’s judicial system should not be a chessboard where political interests move the pieces at will. 

As it stands, Justice Nyako’s indefinite adjournment is as dead as a dodo. It lacks legal backing, constitutional validity, and moral credibility. It is nothing but a desperate maneuver that should not survive the scrutiny of the law.  

The message is clear: the law is bigger than any judge. If Justice Nyako insists on playing legal gymnastics, then it is only a matter of time before the scales of justice tilt back to their rightful place. Until then, we say: #FreeNnamdiKanu and let justice be done according to the law, not the whims of a recused judge on a comeback tour.

Family Writers Press International.