By James
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Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has stated his readiness to face trial a d defend himself in the terrorism charge slammed in him by the Federal Government.
In this regard, Kanu has listed former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, former Chief of Army Staff, Gen Tukur Buratai (rtd), and
Gov. Hope Uzodinma of Imo State among his witnesses.
In a fresh motion he personally signed, Kanu, assured that he was ready to begin his defence as ordered by the court.
The petition was filed before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In the application, titled: “Notice of Number and Names of Witnesses to be Called by the Defendant and Request for Witness Summons/Subpoena and the Variation of the Time Within Which to Defend the Counts/Charges against the Defendant,”, Kanu said the motion, which was marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015 and dated Oct. 20, was filed Oct. 21,
was “pursuant to the order of this honourable court made on the 16th day of October 2015, directing the defendant to commence his defence on the 24th day of October 2025.”
He told the court that he planned to call a total of 23 witnesses divided into “ordinary but material witnesses” and “vital and compellable” witnesses that shall be “summoned under Section 232 of the Evidence Act, 2011.”
The IPOB leader prayed the court to consider granting a 90-day timeline to enable him conclude his defence, considering the number of witnesses he intends to call.
According to him, he would “testify on his own behalf, providing a sworn account of the facts, denying the allegations, and explaining the political context of his statements and actions.”
On Kanu’s “compellable witnesses” are the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike; a former Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd); former Chief of Army Staff, Gen Tukur Buratai (rtd), Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and Gov. Hope Uzodinma of Imo.
Others are Minister of Works, Dave Umahi; the immediate-past Governor of Abia, Okezie Ikpeazu; the immediate-past Director General (DG), National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufai Abubakar; former DG of the State Security Service, Yusuf Bichi, and several others he didn’t reveal their identities.
Furthermore, Kanu promised to “provide the sworn statements of all voluntary witnesses to this honourable court, and to notify the prosecution within a reasonable time.”
He promised that “no precious time of the honourable court would be delayed,”, adding: “it would interest the honourable court and the general public that justice is not only done but manifestly seen to have been done.”
The latest motion followed a motion of preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to continue with his trial, which Kanu had filed on Thursday, the same day a team of medical experts empanelled by the court to determine his health status, certified him medically fit to stand trial in their report.
