The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, has begun to defend himself before the court after his lead counsel, Kanu Agabi, applied to withdraw from representing the detained agitator over allegations that the case has been taken beyond the court by the defendant.
Kanu told the court that he would be representing himself for now in the treason allegations levelled against him by the Federal Government.
Though there may be a change later, even as the judge asked if he should be assigned a lawyer, he declined.
Before the IPOB leader’s decision on Thursday, the legal experts on his side had withdrawn from the suit, a development Nnamdi Kanu himself confirmed in court.
After the drama that preluded the hearing, the Federal High Court in Abuja adjourned the case till Friday, October 24, for Kanu to enter his defence in his ongoing trial.
Trial judge, Justice James Omotosho, fixed the date after Kanu’s lead counsel, Former Attorney General of the Federation, Agabi, informed the Court that they will be stepping down from the trial as wanted by the defendant.
Kanu is standing trial on a seven-count charge brought against him by the Federal Government.
It would be recalled that the IPOB leader was first arrested in October 2015 and charged with treasonable felony.
He was later granted bail in April 2017 but fled the country following a military operation in Abia State. He was re-arrested in Kenya in June 2021 and extradited to Nigeria to face an amended terrorism-related charge.
The Federal Government filed a 15-count charge against him when he was re-arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja in January 2022.
However, on April 8, 2022, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court struck out eight of the 15 counts, leaving seven counts for Kanu to face.
The court struck out the eight counts on the ground that they were repetitive, vague, or did not disclose any offence under the Terrorism Prevention Act or other applicable laws.
Subsequently, in October 2022, the Court of Appeal in Abuja went further to quash all seven remaining charges and discharged Kanu, holding that his extraordinary rendition from Kenya to Nigeria was unlawful and deprived the trial court of jurisdiction.
However, in December 2023, the Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeal’s judgment, ruling that while the rendition was illegal, it did not nullify the charges.
The case was therefore remitted to the Federal High Court to continue trial on the 7 surviving counts.
