The court also prevented them from arresting anybody who comes to the court to witness Kanu’s proceedings.
Justice Benson Anya of the Abia State High Court sitting in Umuahia has issued an order restraining security agencies from deploying heavy personnel to the court premises whenever the case of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, is heard before the court.
The court also prevented them from arresting anybody who comes to the court to witness Kanu’s proceedings.
The judge gave the order at the resumed hearing of Kanu’s human rights lawsuit against the Nigerian government and seven others, which was filed by his special counsel, Aloy Ejimakor.
According to Ejimakor, the suit filed on 7th September was targeted at challenging the pro-Biafra separatist agitator's abduction in Kenya and his extraordinary rendition to Nigeria.
Justice Anya gave the ruling having noted there were over 100 security operatives who surrounded the premises of Abia.
Other legal representatives in court alongside Ejimakor were Barristers Patrick Agazie and Max Ozoaka of Alaigbo Development Foundation.
In a statement by Ejimakor which was made available to SaharaReporters on Friday, “The security agents were out in strength and blocked all the entry points to the Court house, allowing only court workers, judges, lawyers and a few media people to get through. This reporter is one of the few lucky media people allowed to pass through, as many others were turned away.
“It will be recalled that at the two previous hearings of the matter, there was also a sizable number of security agents deployed at the perimeters and premises of the Court, including a large contingent of soldiers.
"In making the order, the judge noted that he saw no necessity for the deployment of such a high number of security agents to the court, stating that in the future if security agents saw the need to deploy to the court, they should apply to the court for permission to do that."
The case was also adjourned by the court on December 10.
“The matter was adjourned to 10th December for the adoption of processes and a hearing on the substantive application seeking Kanu’s release from detention and his repatriation to Britain. The early date was insisted on by Kanu’s lawyer, Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, who argued that fundamental rights are special cases that must be concluded on time, especially in this instance where Kanu has been in detention since June this year,” the statement added.