Justice Under Siege: How Judge Omotosho's Courtroom Became a Theater of Injustice in Nnamdi Kanu's Trial

Justice Under Siege: How Judge Omotosho's Courtroom Became a Theater of Injustice in Nnamdi Kanu's Trial October 26, 2025 – In the d...

Justice Under Siege: How Judge Omotosho's Courtroom Became a Theater of Injustice in Nnamdi Kanu's Trial

October 26, 2025 – In the dim-lit chambers of Nigeria's Federal High Court, where the scales of justice are supposed to tip toward truth and fairness, a farce unfolds daily. At its center: Justice James Omotosho, a judge whose rulings read like scripted defenses of state power rather than impartial adjudications. For over four years, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has languished in the clutches of the Department of State Services (DSS), his health deteriorating under what his supporters call "judicial torture." But it's Omotosho's handling of the case – riddled with procedural sleights of hand, blind eyes to glaring forgeries, and a blatant disregard for due process – that has turned this trial into a national embarrassment. This exposé pulls back the curtain on the irregularities, exposing how Omotosho has shielded the DSS's manipulations while Kanu fights not just for his freedom, but for his life.

It all boils down to a single document: a medical report submitted by the DSS, purporting to assess Kanu's health amid his repeated cries of agony from prostate enlargement, cardiovascular strain, and neurological damage allegedly inflicted during his 2021 rendition from Kenya. Kanu's private physicians, led by Prof. Austin Agaji, painted a dire picture one demanding immediate transfer to the National Hospital for specialized care. The DSS countered with their own assessment, dismissing the severity and insisting their facilities were adequate. Enter the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), ordered by Omotosho on September 26, 2025, to form an independent panel and deliver a report within eight days. 

But here's where the rot sets in. The NMA's final report, presented on October 16, 2025, declared Kanu "fit to stand trial" and non-life-threatening – a conclusion that reeks of coercion and chronology-bending fraud. Why? The document bears a preparation date of September 23, 2025 – three days before Omotosho even issued his order for the panel's formation. 

How does a court-mandated investigation predate the mandate itself? Kanu's legal team, the Global Defence Consortium, didn't mince words: they accused the NMA of "fabricating" the report without a proper examination, claiming it was rushed to the DSS Director-General without Kanu's consent or knowledge. Uchechi Okwu-Kanu, Kanu's wife, took to X (formerly Twitter) to decry the "doctored" findings, alleging DSS intimidation of medical practitioners who dared review her husband's condition honestly. 

Eyewitness accounts from Kanu's counsel, Barr. Maxwell Opara, corroborate the pre-judgment meddling. On September 24 again, pre-order – an NMA team examined Kanu and reportedly confirmed Agaji's findings, uncovering even graver issues like a nostril deformity from torture requiring urgent surgery. Yet, by October 8, when the court reconvened, the DSS lawyer, Suraj Sa'ada (SAN), claimed the report was "incomplete," securing an adjournment to October 16 – all while a pre-dated version had allegedly already been funneled to the state. This isn't oversight; it's orchestration. The discrepancies scream tampering: dates altered, findings sanitized, and an "independent" body reduced to a rubber stamp for the DSS.

Omotosho's response? He acknowledged the timeline anomaly when Kanu, representing himself in a rare courtroom outburst, pointed it out directly. "The judge recognized this fact," sources close to the defence recall, "but contended that Kanu's lawyers did not raise an objection."  In a moment that crystallized the trial's farce, Omotosho shifted blame to the defence team, as if the court's duty to probe evident fraud evaporates without prompting. This wasn't justice; it was judicial gaslighting.

The fallout was swift and seismic. Enraged by the lawyers' silence on the forged report a failure that allowed Omotosho to wave it through unchallenged – Kanu dismissed his entire legal team on the spot. "This was the primary reason," his supporters affirm, for severing ties with the likes of Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) and Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), whom he accused of complicity in the cover-up. In court, Kanu didn't hold back, confronting Omotosho with the date discrepancy and demanding accountability. The judge's retort? A tepid admission followed by deflection: no objection from counsel meant no issue for the bench.

This episode isn't isolated. Kanu's defence has long decried a litany of irregularities under Omotosho, bugged lawyer-client meetings in violation of constitutional privacy rights (Sections 35 and 36); abrupt adjournments when Kanu sought certified transcripts for appeal; and even Omotosho's own courtroom evacuation to "facilitate" consultations – a concession that the defence called "confirmation of violated fair hearing." 

Earlier, in March 2025, Omotosho issued a rare apology for "prolonged delays and mishandling," admitting the ordeal's toll on Kanu. Yet, words haven't translated to action. Instead, Omotosho overruled Kanu's no-case submission on September 26, insisting the DSS had established a prima facie terrorism case – despite the Supreme Court's 2023 affirmation of his rendition as illegal, a jurisdictional poison pill the judge conveniently ignored. 

Who is James Omotosho, the man wielding the gavel in this travesty? Appointed in 2015, his docket has drawn whispers of bias before  from dismissing election petitions with procedural nitpicks to rulings that cozy up to the executive. In Kanu's case, the pattern is damning: deference to DSS narratives, extensions granted to prosecution whims, and a refusal to enforce basic rights like unmonitored medical evaluations. Critics, including IPOB's global consortium, argue Omotosho operates as "a pawn in a chessboard," taking cues from the Attorney General, Nyson Wikeh and DSS high command. Voices like Dr. David Eboh lambast the NMA report as "unethical and useless," a farce unworthy of judicial credence – yet Omotosho swallowed it whole. 

This isn't mere incompetence; it's a systemic perversion. The defence has petitioned the Court of Appeal to review Omotosho's rulings for "inconsistencies," urging scrutiny of the pre-dated report and stalled proceedings. Human rights advocates echo the call, warning that Kanu's trial now adjourned amid the lawyer purge mocks Nigeria's 1999 Constitution and international norms on fair trial and health rights.

Mazi Nnamdi Kanu's story isn't just about one man; it's a mirror to Nigeria's fractured judiciary, where the powerful forge documents, intimidate healers, and judges play along. Omotosho's courtroom has become a coliseum, Kanu the gladiator forced to fight with one hand tied by "allies" who won't challenge the fraud. As protests swell – from Omoyele Sowore's Abuja marches to global Biafran rallies – the question looms: How long will the world watch this slow-motion execution?Kanu vows no defence until the farce ends; his wife endures a decade of widowhood in waiting. The irregularities aren't accidents – they're the architecture of oppression. Justice Omotosho, your bench is stained. Will you wipe it clean, or let history judge you as complicit? Nigeria – and the world – deserves better. #FreeNnamdiKanuNow.

Family Writers Press International.