A courtroom drama played out in Abuja on Thursday as the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, announced that he would personally defend himself in his ongoing treason and terrorism trial.
The development came after his lead counsel, Kanu Agabi (SAN), stunned the court with a formal application to withdraw from the case, revealing that Kanu had chosen to handle his own defence.
In a dramatic twist, all other senior advocates on the defence team also pulled out — a move Kanu confirmed before the presiding judge.
Kanu told the court that he would be representing himself “for now,” adding that he might consider getting a lawyer later. When asked if the court should assign one to him, he refused.
Arguing orally, Kanu insisted that the court lacked the jurisdiction to try him.
The IPOB leader, who was first arrested in 2015, fled Nigeria after being granted bail in 2017 but was rearrested in 2021 and has since remained in **DSS custody.
The federal government has continued to press its case, accusing Kanu of inciting violence and spearheading the separatist agitation for the secession of the South-East region.
In a new application filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday, Kanu declared readiness to proceed with his defence, listing two sets of witnesses — “ordinary but material witnesses” and “vital and compellable” witnesses — to testify under Section 232 of the Evidence Act, 2011.
Among those listed as “vital and compellable” are high-profile figures including Theophilus Danjuma, former Minister of Defence; Tukur Buratai, former Chief of Army Staff; Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos State; Hope Uzodimma, Governor of Imo State; and Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
Others named are Okezie Ikpeazu, former Governor of Abia State; Dave Umahi, Minister of Works; Abubakar Malami, former Attorney-General of the Federation; Ahmed Rufai, ex-Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA); Yusuf Bichi, former DSS Director-General; and Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi, the current DSS boss.
Kanu has asked the court to grant him 90 days to conclude his defence, citing the extensive list of witnesses and the volume of evidence he plans to present.
If the request is granted, the trial — already one of Nigeria’s most politically charged cases — could take a new, unpredictable turn, with Kanu now standing alone against the full weight of the federal prosecution.
