The Federal High Court in Abuja has barred Favour Kanu, the wife of Prince Kanu, younger brother to the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, from attending three court sittings for live-streaming court proceedings on her Facebook page.
Justice James Omotosho handed down the order on Tuesday after Mrs Kanu admitted to the act and tendered an apology.
Her phone had been confiscated during the last court sitting after she was caught recording the proceedings, yet the judge noted with concern that the video later surfaced online.
“I want to hear from her. Were you not the one who took your phone?” Omotosho queried, expressing disappointment over what he called a deliberate disregard for courtroom rules.
“I don’t know if she might be a wife to my brother (Nnamdi Kanu),” he added, to which Prince Kanu clarified, “She is my wife.”
Although senior advocate Kanu Agabi, who is leading Nnamdi Kanu’s defence team, also apologised on Mrs Kanu’s behalf, Omotosho ruled that she must face the consequences to deter future infractions.
“She would have been charged for contempt,” he said, before imposing the three-hearing attendance ban.
The judge reiterated the court’s commitment to a fair and timely trial, warning that any conduct capable of disrupting proceedings or undermining the judicial process would not be tolerated.
Nnamdi Kanu is currently standing trial on terrorism-related charges brought by the Federal Government.
His case has faced multiple delays since his re-arrest and extradition from Kenya in 2021.
