{"id":123227,"date":"2025-10-23T18:39:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T17:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=123227"},"modified":"2025-10-23T18:39:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T17:39:11","slug":"court-declines-kanus-objection-orders-him-to-open-or-waive-defence-friday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/court-declines-kanus-objection-orders-him-to-open-or-waive-defence-friday\/","title":{"rendered":"Court Declines Kanu\u2019s Objection, Orders Him To Open Or Waive Defence Friday"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Oscar Okhifo<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday refused to entertain the fresh preliminary objections filed by the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, insisting that he must either open his defence or waive it by Friday.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Justice James Omotosho, who presided over the matter, held that the issues Kanu sought to raise had already been determined in previous proceedings and could not be revisited at this stage of the trial.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0The judge ruled that Kanu could only reintroduce such arguments in his final written address after the conclusion of evidence.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The court\u2019s decision came amidst dramatic scenes in the courtroom as Kanu announced that he had disengaged his entire legal team and opted to defend himself in the ongoing terrorism trial instituted against him by the Federal Government.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the resumed hearing, Kanu, dressed in his customary white outfit, informed the court that he was no longer comfortable with the representation of his senior lawyers and would henceforth personally conduct his defence.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0His lead counsel, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), along with other members of the defence team, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), Joseph Akubo (SAN), Paul Erokoro (SAN), and Emeka Etiaba (SAN), formally withdrew their appearance.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Upon confirming their withdrawal, Justice Omotosho asked Kanu if he was certain about his decision.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0The IPOB leader replied in the affirmative, stating that he had chosen to represent himself to ensure \u201ctransparency and personal accountability\u201d in the proceedings.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shortly after, Kanu raised multiple objections challenging the court\u2019s jurisdiction to continue with the trial.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He argued that the laws under which he was being tried had been repealed, that he had been denied access to his lawyers and medical care while in detention, and that the medical fitness report presented by the prosecution was allegedly forged.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Justice Omotosho dismissed the objections, described them as repetitive and noted\u00a0 that similar issues had been resolved earlier in the case.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The judge then adjourned the matter to Friday, October 24, directing Kanu to either open his defence or formally waive the right to do so.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, court documents revealed that Kanu had, on October 21, filed a motion listing 23 prominent Nigerians he intends to subpoena or call as witnesses.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0Those listed include former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami; Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike; former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd); Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Others are,\u00a0 \u00a0state Governors Hope Uzodimma of Imo, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, and Dave Umahi of Ebonyi.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0Others named include former National Intelligence Agency boss, Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, and current DSS Director-General, Yusuf Bichi.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kanu is also seeking the court\u2019s leave to grant him 90 days within which to open and conclude his defence, citing the number and calibre of witnesses he intends to call.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">His fresh list of witnesses and renewed objections have further complicated the long-running case that has dragged on since 2015, involving allegations of terrorism, treasonable felony, and incitement against the Nigerian state.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Observers say Friday\u2019s proceedings will be pivotal in determining whether the self-determination agitator will proceed with his defence or risk a judgment based solely on the prosecution\u2019s evidence.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Oscar Okhifo The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday refused to entertain the fresh preliminary objections filed by the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":118370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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