DETAINED leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has sacked his legal representatives and announced that he would defend himself in the ongoing terrorism trial before the Federal High Court (FHC) in Abuja.
The decision came on Thursday, October 23, after Kanu’s lead counsel and former Attorney-General of the Federation, Godwin Kanu Agabi, a senior advocate, informed the court that the defendant had decided to take back his case from him and his team.
Agabi formally withdrew his appearance, and those of other senior advocates in the team.
Kanu, who was brought to court by operatives of the State Security Services (SSS), informed his counsel in open court that he no longer required their services.
The development was formally communicated to the judge, who confirmed that Kanu had chosen to conduct his own defence.
Confirming the development, Kanu told the judge, James Omotosho, that he would represent himself “for now,” although he might later reconsider the decision.
Omotosho asked whether the court should assign a lawyer to assist him, but Kanu declined, insisting on handling his own defence in the seven-count terrorism charge filed against him by the Federal Government.
The judge later ordered Kanu to open his defence on Friday, October 24.
Omotosho issued the directive on Thursday during a tense session where the IPOB leader once again challenged the jurisdiction of the court to try him.
The judge warned that should Kanu failed to open his defence on October 24, the court would consider him to have waived his right to do so.
Kanu told the court that the government was in contempt of the Court of Appeal judgment that had discharged him in October 2022. He argued that the Federal Government lacked the moral and legal standing to continue prosecuting him.
“The Federal Government is in contempt of the Court of Appeal. I have been discharged but kept in detention for 14 months. A contemnor cannot come before the court to seek any remedy because he who comes to equity must come with clean hands,” Kanu said.
He further contended that the law under which he was being tried had been repealed, and that the medical report used to declare him fit for trial was ‘forged,’ claiming it was dated before the court’s order for medical evaluation.
Kanu also complained about being denied adequate access to his lawyers over the past four years and asked for more time to prepare his defence and assemble witnesses, especially given the capital nature of the charges.
Counsel to the Federal Government, Adegboyega Awomolo, a senior advocate, argued that Kanu’s oral submissions were not based on any recognised legal procedure and were merely attempts to delay the trial.
Omotosho ruled that the court would not entertain new preliminary objections at this stage, stressing that most of the issues raised by Kanu had already been determined. He, however, said the defendant could revisit them in his final written address.
At one point, a senior advocate, Onyechi Ikpeazu, appealed to the judge to allow a brief adjournment to give Kanu time to prepare. The judge responded that Kanu, having decided to represent himself, must personally make such an application.
The judge then advised the IPOB leader to make use of the opportunity given to him or risk forfeiting his right to present a defence.
Background to the case
Nnamdi Kanu was first arrested in 2015 on charges including treasonable felony and incitement over his activities as the leader of IPOB, which seeks the secession of Nigeria’s South-East from Nigeria. He was granted bail in 2017 but fled the country after his home in Abia State was raided by the military.
He was re-arrested in Kenya in 2021 and extradited to Nigeria under controversial circumstances that violated international law, according to the Court of Appeal. The court discharged and acquitted him of all terrorism-related charges in October 2022, but the Federal Government appealed the decision at the Supreme Court.
In December 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the trial could continue at the Federal High Court. Since then, Kanu has remained in the custody of the SSS, despite multiple court rulings ordering his release or improved detention conditions.
The ICIR reported that the seven-count terrorism charge against Kanu includes allegations of treason, incitement, defamation of Nigerian authorities, and unlawful broadcasting. His trial has been marked by repeated adjournments, legal disputes over fair hearing, and concerns raised by his lawyers and family members about his health.
The court relies on a report by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) declaring Kanu fit to stand trial, a report the defendant has now dismissed as forged.
A reporter with the ICIR
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