Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has postponed the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), until October 16th.
The trial was put off because the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) hasn't finished checking Mr. Kanu's health and giving their report to the court yet.
Last time the court met, Justice Omotosho told the head of the NMA to get a team of doctors together to check on Mr. Kanu's claims that his health was getting worse.
The court needs the medical report to know two things:
- Can the Department of State Service (DSS) clinic properly treat Mr. Kanu? If not, should he be moved to the National Hospital, as he asked?
- Is Mr. Kanu healthy enough to continue with his trial?
The prosecutor, Suraj S’aad SAN, told the court that the team of doctors said their report wasn't ready to give to the court.
Because of this, the prosecutor asked the court to postpone the trial for one week so the NMA doctors could finish their work.
Mr. Kanu's lawyer, Onyechi Ikpeazu, did not oppose the request. So, Justice Omotosho set the new date for October 16th. On that day, the doctors are expected to give their report, and the court will decide what to do next.