Detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, has again demanded his release, insisting that he has no legal case to answer before the court.
Kanu, who is now representing himself after dismissing his legal team, declined to open his defence on Tuesday in the seven-count terrorism charge filed against him by the Federal Government. He argued that without a valid and lawful charge, there was no basis for him to proceed with his defence or submit a final written address.
Addressing the judge directly, Kanu urged the court to take judicial notice of the motion and affidavit he submitted challenging its jurisdiction.
“You cannot ask me to begin my defence when you have not stated the law under which I am being charged. The records of this court show there is no law backing these charges. I request to be released. My Lord, please take judicial notice of all the records before this court,” he said.
Citing Section 36(12) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Kanu argued that the charges against him have no legal basis. He also alleged that continuing his trial violated a Supreme Court ruling that, according to him, condemned his extraordinary rendition from Kenya.
He added: “In Nigeria today, the Constitution is the supreme law; there is no provision for terrorism offence in the Constitution. There is no valid charge against me. I will not go back to any detention today… The Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act has been repealed. I cannot put up a defence under a repealed law. I won’t do that. I am not ready to go back to detention unless I am shown the valid charge against me.”
In response, prosecution counsel Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, challenged the validity of the documents Kanu served on him, arguing that they had no probative value. He urged the court to disregard them.
The Federal Government’s lawyer asked the court not to entertain further delays, claiming Kanu was intentionally wasting judicial time. He requested that the documents Kanu recently filed be considered his final written address, allowing the court to proceed to judgment.
Kanu has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since his rendition in 2021.
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