•His Lawyer, brother, others secure N500, 000 bail for protesting
•Files fresh suit against FG, seeks termination of his continued trial
•As police re-arrest Sowore at Kuje court
By Ikechukwu Nnochiri and Steve Oko
The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, on Friday, persuaded the Federal High Court in Abuja to shift the commencement of his defence to the seven-count terrorism-related charge pending against him, till Monday.
Kanu urged the court to shift his defence to enable him to retrieve his casefile from the team of lawyers that hitherto represented him in the trial.
He equally told the court that some of the witnesses billed to appear in his defence, would be coming from all parts of the world, including Ethiopia, Kenya and the United States of America, USA.
According to him, his former legal team, led by an erstwhile Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, which he disengaged on Thursday, had yet to hand over the casefile to him.
Announcing himself as his own lawyer, Kanu said he would need to study the casefile to be able to map out the legal strategies that would enhance his defence of the charge the federal government preferred against him.
“My lord, my counsel left the case yesterday, and I have not received the file from them. The few people that would have brought it to me were precluded from seeing me,” Kanu lamented as he applied for an adjournment.
Besides, the IPOB leader who entered the dock with a bundle of documents, stressed that the three days allowed for him to entertain visitors at the detention facility of the Department of State Services, DSS, every week, would not be enough for him to relate with his 23 proposed witnesses.
He prayed the court to expand the visiting days to enable him effectively prepare his defence.
“I will want the court to make an order so that these witnesses that will be coming from different countries, can have access to me,” he added.
Even though Kanu elected to represent himself in the matter, he, however, urged the court to direct the DSS to allow his lawyers to have access to him on non-working days, a request that was granted.
On his part, FG’s lawyer, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, drew the attention of the court to the fact that Kanu was handed six days to close his defence. He noted that two days had already been spent from the period without the defendant opening his defence.
Consequently, the prosecution counsel urged the court to strictly adhere to the timetable it already provided for the proceeding.
More so, Awomolo, SAN, said he was not aware that any of the proposed defence witnesses would be coming from other countries, adding that a bailiff of the court had since commenced the service of summons on those that Kanu listed to testify in the matter. He did not oppose the request for an adjournment.
While adjourning the case till Monday, Justice James Omotosho held that he would not entertain any delay in the case. The trial judge said he was surprised to hear that Kanu’s former legal team did not handover the casefile to him. He said the court decided to grant the adjournment request, in the interest of justice.
It will be recalled that Kanu, who has been in detention since 2021, had in a motion he personally signed and filed before the court, named several individuals that included serving Governors, Ministers, ex-Governors and Security Chiefs, among the 23 persons he intends to produce as his witnesses.
Describing them as vital and compellable witnesses in his case, Kanu, urged the court to grant him a 90-day period to enable him to open and conclude his defence.
Among the proposed witnesses in the principal list he submitted before 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 immediate past Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; as well as a former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd).
Others are the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi; the immediate past Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu; a former Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd); immediate past former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, Ahmed Rufai Abubakar; as well as the former Director-General of the Department of State Services, DSS, Yusuf Bichi.
Kanu, in the motion dated October 21 and marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015, equally hinted that he would call other persons whose names were not on the list he submitted.
Meanwhile, in a related development, a Chief Magistrate Court at Kuje, on Friday, granted bail to Kanu’s younger brother, Emmanuel; one of his lawyers, Mr. Alloy Ejimakor, and 10 others that were remanded in prison custody on Tuesday, to the tune of N500, 000 each with two sureties in like sum.
The defendants were arrested and arraigned for protesting for the unconditional release of the embattled IPOB leader.
Kanu files fresh suit against FG,
Also,Kanu filed a fresh suit against the Federal Government, seeking permanent termination of his continued trial.
He also adduced reasons the trial should not be allowed to continue after being discharged by the Court of Appeal, describing it as a fragrant violation of the rule of law.
In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015, a copy of which was made available to Vanguard through the family, Kanu highlighted four defects of his continued trial.
“These four defects – contempt of appellate authority, failure to take judicial notice of repeal, denial of fair hearing, and reliance on forgery – are all ex facie recordi and strike at the root of jurisdiction”, the suit read.
“Each of these defects is independently fatal; cumulatively, they render the entire trial incompetent and void”, the suit added.
Kanu argued that the Federal Government remains in flagrant contempt of a subsisting appellate judgment which had in the past, discharged him.
“By the Doctrine of Appellate Finality, that order terminated the trial absolutely”, he submitted.
“Until it was set aside by the Supreme Court (after fourteen months), it remained binding in praesenti and enforceable ex debito justitiae. See Governor of Lagos State v. Ojukwu (1986) 1 NWLR (Pt.18) 621; Rossek v. ACB Ltd (1993) 8 NWLR (Pt.312) 382.
Obi urges equitable port devt across Nigeria
Former Governor of Anambra State and presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, has commended the Federal Government for approving $1 billion (?1.5 trillion) for the modernisation of the Apapa and TinCan Island Ports in Lagos, but called for a more equitable approach to port development across the country.
In a statement titled “The Imperative of Diversifying Port Development in Nigeria”, Obi welcomed the move as a positive step toward improving efficiency and embracing technology in Nigeria’s maritime sector. However, he stressed that such initiatives must be guided by accountability, transparency, and fairness to all regions.
According to Obi, the continued concentration of port development in Lagos reflects a longstanding imbalance in Nigeria’s infrastructural investment. “Nigeria’s infrastructure investment remains excessively concentrated in Lagos, often at the expense of other strategic ports such as Warri, Port Harcourt, Calabar, and Onne,” he said. “If fully developed, these ports could enhance productivity, drive trade, create jobs, and open new economic corridors that would lift millions out of poverty across the federation.”
Citing examples from around the world, Obi noted that countries which decentralised their port development have reaped enormous economic benefits. “Vietnam operates over 300 ports distributed across the country, Indonesia has about 111 commercial ports, South Africa maintains eight major seaports, while Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and even Ghana have ensured their ports are geographically spread to promote balanced development,” he explained.
He observed that over 70 per cent of Nigeria’s port activities remain concentrated in Lagos, causing severe congestion, high demurrage costs, environmental degradation, and delays that increase the cost of goods and discourage investors. Obi maintained that developing other ports is therefore not merely an infrastructural concern but a national imperative.
“Revitalising Warri, Port Harcourt, Calabar, and Onne would decongest Lagos, reduce shipping costs, attract investment, create employment, and stimulate regional economies,” he stated.
Obi further emphasised the need for holistic reform of the maritime sector to tackle corruption, reduce bureaucracy, and embrace technology for seamless and paperless operations. He expressed optimism that if prudently managed, the Lagos modernisation project could become a model for broader maritime transformation in Nigeria.
He concluded by urging the government to pursue fairness and equity in infrastructural planning, saying: “Now more than ever, Nigeria must rebuild with fairness, guided by equity, integrity, and a clear vision to transform our nation from one of consumption to one of production and shared prosperity.”
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