The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, will today know his fate in the prolonged legal battle with the Federal Government.
A court, presided over by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja, is expected to rule on a series of applications filed by both Kanu and the Federal Government, including a request by the IPOB leader challenging the competence of the charges against him and seeking his release on the grounds of alleged unlawful detention and infringement of his fundamental rights.
Kanu has been in the custody of the Department of State Services since June 2021, following his controversial interception and return to Nigeria from Kenya in circumstances his lawyers describe as “extraordinary rendition”.
He is facing seven terrorism-related charges bordering on alleged incitement, running an unlawful group, and acts threatening national security—allegations he vehemently denies.
Justice Omotosho, on November 7, fixed Thursday to deliver judgment in the charges brought against Kanu.
Justice Omotosho announced the date while ruling on the matter after Kanu failed to open his defence, having exhausted the six days allocated to him by the court to present his defence.
While Kanu failed to open his defence after the prosecution closed its case, the IPOB leader filed a fresh motion challenging his trial.
He stated that the earlier Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act had been repealed, and as such, there are no valid charges against him.
He asked the court to expunge from its record “the purported plea of not guilty entered by him,” claiming it was based on deception and in defiance of the Supreme Court’s decision.
