1 week ago
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By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA– The Federal High Court successful Abuja has slated Friday for the detained person of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, to unfastened his defence to the seven-count terrorism-related complaint the Federal Government entered against him.
The lawsuit was adjourned to alteration Kanu, who had earlier sacked his ineligible team, to hole to personally correspond himself during his defence proceedings.
A erstwhile Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Kanu Agabi, SAN, who hitherto led the defendant’s ineligible team, had astatine the resumed proceeding connected Thursday, announced his withdrawal from the case.
Agabi, SAN, disclosed that the IPOB leader, who has elected to support himself, took the lawsuit record from him and different elder lawyers who were portion of his team.
Following Kanu’s confirmation of the development, proceedings Justice James Omotosho ordered each lawyer that antecedently announced quality for the suspect successful the lawsuit to vacate the courtroom.
He lone allowed the SANs to stay successful the court.
With the lawyers’ exit, the proceedings justice ordered Kanu to proceed with his defence.
In his archetypal submission arsenic his ain lawyer, Kanu challenged the jurisdiction of the tribunal to proceed his trial.
Even though the embattled IPOB person was overruled by Justice Omotosho, who insisted helium indispensable unfastened his defence, it took a speedy involution by 1 of the SANs, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, to transportation the tribunal to adjourn the proceeding till Friday.
Dr. Ikpeazu drew the attraction of the tribunal to the information that the withdrawal of the erstwhile defence lawyers took effect connected Thursday morning.
He, therefore, pleaded for the suspect to beryllium granted a abbreviated clip to stitchery his thoughts and constitute himself for the task ahead.
The petition was not opposed by the national government’s squad of prosecutors led by Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN.
It volition beryllium recalled that Kanu, who has been successful detention since 2021, had successful a caller question helium personally signed and filed earlier the court, named respective individuals that included serving governors, ministers, ex-governors and information chiefs, among the 23 persons helium intends to nutrient arsenic his witnesses.
Describing them arsenic captious and compellable witnesses successful his case, Kanu, urged the tribunal to assistance him a 90-day play to alteration him to unfastened and reason his defence.
He argued that expanding the archetypal six-day play the tribunal gave him to reason his defence has go indispensable successful presumption of the fig and presumption of the witnesses helium intends to nutrient to springiness grounds successful the case.
Among the projected witnesses successful the main database helium submitted earlier the court, included the Governor of Imo state, Hope Uzodimma; that of Lagos state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike; the contiguous past Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; arsenic good arsenic a erstwhile Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd).
Others are the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi; the contiguous past Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu; a erstwhile Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd); the contiguous past Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, Ahmed Rufai Abubakar; arsenic good arsenic the erstwhile Director-General of the Department of State Services, DSS, Yusuf Bichi.
Kanu, successful the question dated October 21 and marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015, arsenic hinted that helium would telephone different persons whose names were not connected the database helium submitted.
He wants the tribunal to contented a subpoena (summons) to compel the attendance of each the projected witnesses whose grounds helium said would found his innocence of the complaint against him.
The station Court fixes Friday for Nnamdi Kanu to unfastened defence to FG’s coercion charge appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.
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