Nigerian separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu has dismissed his legal team at the start of his defence and told a federal court he will represent himself, arguing the court lacks jurisdiction to try him — a claim the judge rejected before ordering him to proceed.
The 58-year-old leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) denies charges of terrorism and incitement to violence. IPOB seeks independence for what it calls the Biafran nation in south-eastern Nigeria and was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in 2017; its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network, has been accused in recent years of killings and other attacks.
Kanu provided no reason for sacking his lawyers, who have not commented. Less than a day earlier he had named several prominent Nigerians as defence witnesses, including Abubakar Malami, attorney general at the time of Kanu’s 2021 arrest.
Holding a British passport, Kanu told the court his continued detention flouts a 2022 Court of Appeal ruling that ordered the charges against him dropped. The judge noted the Supreme Court later reinstated the case and said that issue had been settled during preliminary hearings.
The courtroom developments follow protests in Abuja on Monday, when police fired tear gas to disperse crowds demanding Kanu’s immediate release.
Kanu was first arrested in October 2015 on terrorism charges. He jumped bail in 2017 after a military raid on his home, and a court revoked his bail and ordered his re-arrest in March 2019. Nigeria announced his re-arrest in 2021; his lawyers say he was detained in Kenya before being returned to Nigeria, a claim Kenyan authorities have not addressed. Despite repeated clashes with the government, Kanu retains a devoted following in Nigeria’s south-east.