The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has agreed to open his defence, naming several high-profile figures, including former Defence Minister Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), ex-Chief of Army Staff Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd), and current ministers Nyesom Wike and Dave Umahi as key witnesses.
Also listed among the witnesses are the immediate past Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN; former Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, Ahmed Rufai Abubakar; and the Director General of the State Security Service, SSS, Yusuf Magaji Bichi. Kanu said he would also call other witnesses whose identities he did not disclose.
The development came just hours after Omoyele Sowore the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), led protests in Abuja demanding Kanu’s release.
Kanu, who had earlier filed a preliminary objection challenging the court’s jurisdiction to continue his trial, submitted a fresh motion dated October 21.
In the motion, he declared his readiness to proceed with his defence “pursuant to the order of this honourable court made on the 16th day of October 2015, directing the defendant to commence his defence on October 24, 2025.”
He explained that he plans to call 23 witnesses, divided into two groups: “ordinary but material witnesses” and another group described as “vital and compellable,” who would be summoned under Section 232 of the Evidence Act, 2011.
The motion, personally signed by Kanu, indicated a possible change in his legal representation led by Kanu Agabi (SAN), while requesting a 90-day period to fully present his defence.
The compellable witnesses, according to Kanu, include Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd), Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos and Hope Uzodinma of Imo, as well as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike; Minister of Works, Dave Umahi; and former Abia State governor, Okezie Ikpeazu.
He prayed the court to grant him a 90- day time frame to enable him conclude his defence, stating that he would testify on his own behalf, providing a sworn account of the facts, denying the allegations, and explaining the political context of his statements and actions.
Kanu further promised to provide the sworn statements of all voluntary witnesses to this honourable court, and to notify the prosecution within a reasonable time.
He assured the court that “no precious time of the honourable court would be delayed,” adding, “and it would interest the honourable court that and the general public that justice is not only done but manifestly seen to have been done.”
The court’s appointed team of medical experts had earlier declared Kanu medically fit to stand trial.
Meanwhile, Kanu’s special counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, and 12 others have been remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre by a magistrate court in Abuja following their participation in protests demanding his release.
The police accused them of criminal conspiracy, inciting disturbance, and disobedience of lawful orders, contrary to Sections 152, 114, and 113 of the Penal Code.
The 13 defendants named in two separate First Information Reports (FIRs) include Ejimakor, Kanu’s brother Emmanuel, Joshua Emmanuel, Wilson Anyalewechi, Okere Kingdom Nnamdi, Clinton Chimeneze, Gabriel Joshua, Isiaka Husseini, Onyekachi Ferdinand, Amadi Prince, Edison Ojisom, Godwill Obioma, and Chima Onuchukwu.
After a brief hearing, the magistrate ordered their remand in Kuje Prison and adjourned the case until October 24 for arraignment.
