The Federal High Court in Abuja has postponed its ruling on the no-case submission filed by detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, to October 10.
During Friday’s court session, the Nigerian government’s lead counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, urged Justice James Omotosho to dismiss Kanu’s ‘No Case’ submission, insisting the IPOB leader has a case to answer on the seven-count terrorism charge filed against him.
Awomolo told the court that Kanu had, in a broadcast aired on Biafra Radio, declared his intention to dismember Nigeria and establish a separate Biafran state.
Awomolo argued that threatening to break up Nigeria poses a fundamental national security risk and should not be dismissed as an empty threat, as Kanu had claimed.
He further alleged that Kanu’s radio broadcast incited violence, as he reportedly ordered his followers to kill police officers and their families.
According to the prosecution, over 170 security personnel were murdered in the aftermath of the broadcast.
“The defendant made a broadcast. He proudly declared himself as IPOB leader, even when he knew that IPOB had been proscribed. He made a broadcast that the world will come to standstill.
“The law of Nigeria prohibits words capable of making Nigerians live in perpetual fears, threatening to bring Nigeria down. The aim is to create Biafra and not a mere boasting and there are consequences for such boasting,” the lawyer said.
Awomolo urged the court to dismiss Nnamdi Kanu’s ‘no case’ submission and compel him to open his defence, insisting that the application lacked merit and was fundamentally flawed.
On the other hand, Kanu’s lead counsel, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, challenged the validity of the prosecution’s case and prayed the court to discharge and acquit his client.
Agabi argued that throughout the trial, the prosecution failed to present a single witness who testified to being incited to violence by Kanu.
He pointed out that all five witnesses called were operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), who only admitted to obtaining statements from the defendant.
The senior advocate further maintained that no investigation was conducted on the statements Kanu made, and the court was not presented with any report linking him to terrorism.
He also noted that despite the charges against Kanu being amended eight times, there was no testimony indicating that he incited anyone to violence.
Agabi argued that Kanu’s statement urging people to defend themselves against ongoing killings was not incitement to violence.
He maintained that Kanu’s remark about “bring the world down” was mere rhetoric and should not be used as evidence to justify terrorism charges against him.
He emphasised that calling on Nigerians to defend themselves was a constitutional right, a position that had been echoed by several prominent figures, including retired General T.Y. Danjuma.
Agabi also criticised the alleged solitary confinement of Nnamdi Kanu over the past years, describing it as a violation of international law, which prohibits solitary confinement beyond 15 days.
Maintaining that the prosecution failed to establish the essential elements of terrorism throughout the trial, Agabi urged the court to rule that no prima facie case had been made against Kanu and that there was no basis to compel him to enter a defence.
Meanwhile, after hearing arguments on the ‘no case’ submission, Justice Omotosho adjourned the matter to October 10 for ruling.
