The Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled November 20 to deliver its judgment on the seven-count terrorism charge brought by the Federal Government against the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Justice James Omotosho fixed the date on Friday after the defendant, who is currently representing himself, failed to present his defense within the six days previously allocated to him by the court.
Instead of opening his defense, Kanu filed a procedural motion on Friday, which challenges both the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter and the legal competence of the charge itself.
The court had initially stood down the case for one hour after Kanu, who disengaged his legal team, signaled his intention to file his defense process. However, the resulting process was not a defense on the facts but a constitutional challenge.
In the motion filed, the IPOB leader argued that the basis of the prosecution was invalid. Kanu insisted that his prosecution was based on a non-existent law. He went further to explain the grounds for this assertion, stating, “He argued that the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, under which the charge was brought against him, had since been repealed.”
The court will now rule on the validity of the Federal Government’s entire case on the fixed date, following Kanu’s challenge to the legal foundation of the charge.
