By Abiola Olawale
The legal proceedings involving Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), have taken a dramatic turn.
This is as Kanu announced his decision to defend himself in court after his legal team withdrew from the case.
Kanu Agabi, senior lawyer leading Nnamdi Kanu’s legal team, applied to withdraw legal representation during the court session on Thursday.
Agabi said the defendant has chosen to defend himself in the case.
All the senior advocates of Nigeria (SAN) on the defence team have also withdrawn from the trial, a development Kanu himself confirmed in court.
Kanu told the court that he would be representing himself for now, but that he may decide to get a lawyer later. When the judge asked if he should be assigned a lawyer, he declined the offer.
Defending himself orally, Kanu argued that the court lacks the jurisdiction to try him.
The New Diplomat reports that the development comes as Kanu is expected to open his defence on the charges slammed against him by the Federal Government.
Recall also that Kanu had filed a motion listing a long array of prominent Nigerians, including serving and former top government officials, as his proposed defence witnesses.
The list includes former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, former Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), and former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd).
Other notable names on the list of proposed witnesses include: Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State; Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State; Dave Umahi, Minister of Works; Okezie Ikpeazu, immediate past Governor of Abia State;Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA); and Yusuf Bichi, former Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS).
Kanu, who is set to open his defence at the Federal High Court in Abuja, categorized these individuals as “vital and compellable witnesses” whose testimonies, he argued, are crucial to his defence against the charges.
