The Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice James Omotosho, has fixed November 20 to deliver its judgment on the seven-count terrorism charge filed against the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
The date was set after Kanu failed to utilize the six days allotted by the court to open his defence against the Federal Government’s charge.
Instead of opening his defence on Friday, November 7, Kanu, who has chosen to represent himself after disengaging his lawyers, filed a fresh motion challenging the competence of the charge and the court’s jurisdiction to try him.
In the document he filed, Kanu argued that his prosecution is based on a non-existent law, specifically claiming that the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, under which the charge was brought, has since been repealed.
Justice Omotosho decided to proceed to judgment after Kanu’s persistent refusal to enter his defence. The judge had previously given the IPOB leader a final opportunity to present his case, warning that failure to do so would result in the defence being foreclosed.
By filing the motion challenging the charge’s validity instead of a defence, the court essentially deemed that Kanu had waived his right to defend the case on its merits.
This development brings the long-running, politically sensitive trial to a critical juncture, with the judgment on November 20 set to determine the fate of the separatist leader.
