The detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has agreed to open his defence in the terrorism charges filed against him by the Federal Government, listing 23 witnesses, including FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and his Imo State counterpart, Hope Uzodinma.
Others named as witnesses include the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi; immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN); former Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd); and former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd). former Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, ex-NIA DG Ahmed Abubakar, and SSS boss Yusuf Magaji Bichi.
Last Thursday, Nnamdi Kanu filed a preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to proceed with his trial. The objection coincided with the same day a court-appointed team of medical experts declared him fit to stand trial.
However, in a fresh motion personally filed on Tuesday, October 21, Kanu informed the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice James Omotosho, that he would begin his defence on October 24, 2025, as previously ordered by the court in 2015.
In the filing, Kanu revealed plans to call 23 witnesses, grouped into two categories: “ordinary but material witnesses” and a second group he referred to as “vital and compellable,” who would be summoned under Section 232 of the Evidence Act, 2011.
The motion, personally signed by Kanu, also requested a 90-day period to present his full defence, signaling a possible departure from his legal team led by Kanu Agabi (SAN).
He pledged to testify himself and provide a sworn account countering the allegations, including context on the political nature of his actions and statements.
Kanu further assured the court that “no precious time of the honourable court would be delayed,” and promised that justice would not only be done, but be “manifestly seen to have been done.”
