In a replay of his arrival in court two weeks ago, there was further drama today at the Federal High Court in Abuja when the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and founder of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, refused to alight from his prison in handcuffs.
On January 25, he had similarly refused to exit the prison vehicle upon arrival, until arrangements were made for him to enter the courtroom by means of the judges’ entrance.
Again today, when the vehicle that conveyed him arrived in the court premises, he refused the invitation of prison officials to come down, although the two others arraigned with him had done so, as he objected to the presence of press cameras.
Kanu finally came out of the vehicle in chains and entered the court following the intervention of his lawyer, Chuks Moma, who pleaded with him and assured him that the matter would be sorted out in the course of the hearing of his case.
In the courtroom another argument ensued when a prison official tried to remove the handcuffs from Kanu. He vehemently refused the action and charged at the officer, claiming he was comfortable wearing them, pointing out he had worn them all the way from the prison custody.
That argument also required the intervention of his lawyer for him to agree to the handcuffs being removed.
