The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has scheduled a crucial date to deliver its judgment in the terrorism case against Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Judgment Date Set After Defence Failure
Presiding judge Justice James Omotosho fixed November 20 as the judgment date after Kanu failed to utilize the six days allocated by the court to open his defence against the Federal Government's seven-count terrorism charge. The development came when instead of presenting his defence on Friday, November 7, Kanu filed a fresh motion challenging the legal basis of the charges against him.
Kanu's Legal Strategy and Court Response
Having chosen to represent himself after disengaging his lawyers, Kanu argued in his filed document that his prosecution rests on a non-existent law. He specifically contended that the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, under which the government brought the charge, has since been repealed. Justice Omotosho decided to proceed to judgment following Kanu's persistent refusal to enter his defence, having previously given the IPOB leader a final opportunity to present his case with a warning that failure would result in the defence being foreclosed.
Trial Reaches Critical Juncture
By filing the motion challenging the charge's validity rather than presenting a substantive defence, the court essentially determined that Kanu had waived his right to defend the case on its merits. This significant development brings the long-running and politically sensitive trial to a pivotal moment, with the November 20 judgment now positioned to determine the fate of the separatist leader.
