• INCIDENTS
    • Nigeria
      • South West
      • South South
      • South East
      • North Central
      • North East
      • North West
    • West Africa
      • Senegal
      • Benin Republic
      • Burkina Faso
      • Cape Verde
      • Cote d’Ivoire
      • Gambia
      • Ghana
      • Guinea
      • Guinea-Bissau
      • Liberia
      • Mali
      • Mauritania
      • Niger Republic
      • Sierra Leone
      • Togo
  • NEWS
    • Defending the Civic Space – Blog
    • AML – CFT NEWS
    • Foreign News
    • Local News
    • Videos
  • RESOURCES
    • Policy briefs
    • Restrictive legislations
    • Press statements
    • INFOGRAPHICS
    • Publications
    • Newsletters
  • ACTION GROUP
    • Join
    • Steering Committee
    • Members
    • Group Activities
    • Member Activities
  • SPECIAL CAUSES
    • COVID-19
      • General News
      • Incidents
      • Eyewitness Reports
    • #ENDSARS
      • General News
      • Missing Persons
      • Gallery
      • Trends & Hashtags
  • CSR-HUB
    • Blog
    • Upcoming Events
Menu
  • INCIDENTS
    • Nigeria
      • South West
      • South South
      • South East
      • North Central
      • North East
      • North West
    • West Africa
      • Senegal
      • Benin Republic
      • Burkina Faso
      • Cape Verde
      • Cote d’Ivoire
      • Gambia
      • Ghana
      • Guinea
      • Guinea-Bissau
      • Liberia
      • Mali
      • Mauritania
      • Niger Republic
      • Sierra Leone
      • Togo
  • NEWS
    • Defending the Civic Space – Blog
    • AML – CFT NEWS
    • Foreign News
    • Local News
    • Videos
  • RESOURCES
    • Policy briefs
    • Restrictive legislations
    • Press statements
    • INFOGRAPHICS
    • Publications
    • Newsletters
  • ACTION GROUP
    • Join
    • Steering Committee
    • Members
    • Group Activities
    • Member Activities
  • SPECIAL CAUSES
    • COVID-19
      • General News
      • Incidents
      • Eyewitness Reports
    • #ENDSARS
      • General News
      • Missing Persons
      • Gallery
      • Trends & Hashtags
  • CSR-HUB
    • Blog
    • Upcoming Events

Federal High Court Bars Journalists, Public from Terrorism Trials

  • Date of Occurrence
    April 7, 2022
  • State/Country
    Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria
  • Details
  • Comments 0
  • prev
  • next
  • Bookmark
  • Share
  • Report
  • Leave a review
  • prev
  • next
Image
Description

The Federal High Court has barred journalists and members of the public from attending proceedings in terrorism-related cases.

The court’s Chief Information Officer, Catherine Christopher, announced the new ‘Practice Direction’ in a statement on Thursday.

The statement said the Chief Judge of the court, John Tsoho, issued the directive in the exercise of his constitutional powers as enshrined in Section 254 of the Nigerian Constitution.

Under the new directive, which takes immediate effect, the trial of terrorism-related offences is to henceforth be conducted in camera.

“Proceedings of offences of terrorism, subject to the provisions of section 232 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 and section 34 of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2011 (as amended), shall be held in camera or as may be ordered by the Court,” the document says.

The rules also make provision for the exclusion of “any person other than the parties and their legal representatives” from terrorism proceedings.

Except where the trial judge grants permission, media coverage will be prohibited, the new rule says.
“The coverage of proceedings under these Practice Directions is strictly prohibited, save as may be directed by the Court,” the document says.

It empowers the trial court to “make an order as to any electronic devices that would be allowed during the proceeding.”

The directive comes amidst the ongoing terrorism prosecution of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (BIAFRA).

Mr Kanu, who is being tried before Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja, is accused of various offences, including treasonable felony and terrorism, offences he allegedly committed in the course of his separatist campaigns.

The federal government had sought the secret trial of the IPOB leader in the past, but Mrs Nyako declined the request.

Consequence of violation

The document also provides that anyone who violates the practice directions is deemed to have committed an offence under the terrorism law.

“A person who contravenes an order or direction made under these Practice Directions shall be deemed to have committed an offence contrary to section 34(5) of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2011 (as amended).

“These Practice Directions shall be cited as the Federal High Court Practice Directions (On Trial of Terrorism Cases) 2022,” it says.

Details
  • Date of Occurrence
    2022-04-07
  • State/Country
    Federal Capital Territory
  • Perpetrator
    Federal High Court
  • Source
    https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/522492-federal-high-court-bars-journalists-public-from-terrorism-trials.html
Location

Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria

Get Directions
Region
  • North Central
Rights & Freedom Violated
  • Press Freedom
Mode of Attacks
  • Ban, Sanctions and Fines
  • Comments are closed.
  • You May Also Be Interested In

    ICIR’s Executive Director, Dayo Aiyetan, Attacked During Poll

    • Federal Capital Territory
    Feb25
    • Press Freedom

    Police Detain Abuja Journalists

    • Federal Capital Territory
    Feb22
    • Press Freedom

    Nigerian Police Arraign Journalist, Dare Akogun, Brother Detained Over WhatsApp Chats Accusing Kwara Governor’s Aide Of Fraud, Fire Gunshots, Teargas at Peaceful Protesters

    • Kwara
    Oct13
    • Freedom of Expression
    • +1

    This site is supported by:

    FGHR-150x50
    OSF-150x50
    fh
    ford-foundation-logo-150x50

    Closing Civic Spaces is a publicly-available database on closing spaces for civic engagement and civil society in Nigeria & West Africa. Data  is compiled from public sources.

    • +234-814-500-0067
    • Lagos, Nigeria

    Stay informed

    Get incidents as they happen

    Support our campaign to protect the civil society space

    Donate Now
    Donate to Defend the Civil Society Space

    © 2019 Closing Civic Spaces by Spaces for Change. Spaces for Change is a member of the Global NPO Coalition on FATF.

    Images, texts, & other forms of content are copyright of their respective owners.

    Cart

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • WhatsApp
    • Telegram
    • Pinterest
    • LinkedIn
    • Tumblr
    • VKontakte
    • Mail
    • Copy link