By Our Reporter
Leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, on Thursday, dismissed his entire legal team led by Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), opting to personally conduct his defence in the ongoing terrorism case before the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Kanu announced the disengagement of his lawyers before Justice James Omotosho, at the resumed hearing, insisting that he was capable of defending himself.
The development prompted Chief Agabi, a former Attorney-General of the Federation, and other senior advocates on the defence team to formally withdraw their appearance from the case.
Following the withdrawal, Kanu immediately challenged the jurisdiction of the court to continue his trial, maintaining that the charges against him were unconstitutional and politically motivated.
The embattled IPOB leader, who is being held by the Department of State Services (DSS), also informed the court that he had filed a fresh motion, personally signed on 21 October, listing a number of high-profile figures as witnesses in his defence.
The motion, titled “Notice of Number and Names of Witnesses to be Called by the Defendant and Request for Witness Summons/Subpoena and the Variation of the Time Within Which to Defend the Counts/Charges against the Defendant,” named several prominent Nigerians as “compellable witnesses.”
Among those listed are the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike; former Minister of Defence, retired General Theophilus Danjuma; former Chief of Army Staff, retired General Tukur Buratai; Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma.
Others include Minister of Works, Dave Umahi; former Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu; former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Abubakar; and former Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi.
The motion also indicated that several other unnamed individuals would be called as witnesses.
Kanu pledged to provide the sworn statements of all voluntary witnesses to the court and to notify the prosecution within a reasonable period, in accordance with procedural rules.
It was gathered that the IPOB leader held a private consultation with members of his legal team at the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, before Thursday’s dramatic courtroom announcement.
He was brought to court by DSS operatives, in compliance with the judge’s earlier directive that he be allowed access to his lawyers ahead of the resumed proceedings.
Justice Omotosho subsequently adjourned the matter to allow Kanu to regularise his new defence arrangement.
