Lawyers, litigants, and journalists present in Courtroom 7 of a Federal High Court (FHC) in Abuja were ordered to leave the courtroom on Friday during the trial of Tukur Mamu. E. A Kaswe, representing the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and prosecuting the case on behalf of the Federal Government, requested the court to enforce an order granted on Wednesday, which required all parties not involved in the suit to vacate the court during the trial.
“May I humbly ask the court to enforce the order granted for all parties not party to the suit to vacate the court,” he prayed.
Justice Inyang Ekwo granted the prayer and ordered everyone to leave the court, except the parties directly involved in the case. This decision, however, contradicted the prosecution’s request to allow accredited journalists at the FHC to observe the proceedings.
The trial of Tukur Mamu, accused of having connections with terrorists involved in an attack on a Kaduna-bound train last year, is currently ongoing.
Earlier on Wednesday, Justice Ekwo granted an ex-parte motion presented by Kaswe to protect the witnesses lined up for the prosecution. The motion, filed on June 15 and marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/96/2023, sought orders pursuant to relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
In the motion, the Federal Government requested four orders related to the trial.
These include, “An order of this Honourable Court excluding persons other than parties and their legal representatives at the hearing of the above-named charge except members of the accredited press.
“An order of this Honourable Court vacating the courtroom whenever the prosecution witnesses are coming to testify.
“An order of this Honourable Court shielding the physical identity of the prosecution witnesses by wearing facial masks and or the use of screen whenever prosecution witnesses are testifying.
“An order of this Honourable Court directing the use of pseudo names by prosecution witnesses and deleting the real names and addresses of prosecution witnesses throughout the proceedings of this case.”
