The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, who is facing a seven-count terrorism and treasonable felony charge, told the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja yesterday, Friday, June 19, that he has no case to answer.
Kanu took this position shortly after the Federal Government (FG), which is prosecuting him, announced its decision to close its case.
The FG wrapped up its case after the fifth prosecution witness, PW-5, concluded his testimony and was discharged by the court.
The witness, whose name was shielded, was simply identified as EEE before giving his testimony behind a protective screen.
Upon the conclusion of his cross-examination by a member of Kanu’s legal team, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, FG’s counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, informed the court that he would no longer produce any witness to testify in the matter.
Awomolo said the prosecution team was satisfied that from the avalanche of evidence tendered through the five witnesses, the government had effectively established the charge against the defendant.
“I will therefore, at this juncture, close the case of the prosecution,” the senior lawyer added.
Following the announcement, the head of Kanu’s defence team, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, notified the court about his client’s decision to enter a no-case submission in the matter.
A no-case submission is made when a defendant believes that the totality of evidence adduced by the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case capable of warranting the court to compel him to enter his defence.
Should the application succeed, the defendant would be discharged by the court, marking an end to the trial.
Given Kanu’s decision, trial Justice James Omotosho gave his legal team and FG 14 days each to file written addresses and two days to file their replies on points of law.
The case was subsequently adjourned till Thursday, July 18, for adoption of the no-case submission.
Earlier in the proceedings, FG, through the PW-5, tendered in evidence a report it said linked the embattled IPOB leader to the killing of 186 police officers as well as the destruction of 164 police stations during the EndSARS protests in 2020.
The witness, an operative of the Department of State Services (DSS), told the court that he was part of a team deployed to gather intelligence and compile reports on the violence that followed the protests.
He said he became aware of Kanu through media reports, though they never met in person.
His mandate, he said, was to record all destruction of public properties and deaths of security operatives that occurred as a result of Kanu’s radio broadcasts.
Among the items he tendered, which were admitted in evidence, included a damage assessment report, death certificates of some security officers, and a certificate of compliance.
Kanu’s lawyer challenged the admissibility of the exhibits, saying he would state his reasons in the defendant’s final written address.
It will be recalled that Kanu was first arrested on Wednesday, October 14, 2015, upon his return to Nigeria from the United Kingdom.
Following his arraignment, the court granted him bail on health grounds on Tuesday, April 25, 2017, after he had spent about 18 months in detention.
Upon meeting the bail conditions, he was released from Kuje prison on Friday, April 28, 2017.
However, midway through the trial, Kanu escaped the country after soldiers invaded his country home at Afara Ukwu Ibeku in Umuahia, Abia State, in an operation that led to the death of some of his followers.
Kanu was later re-arrested in Kenya on Saturday, June 19, 2021, and extraordinarily renditioned back to Nigeria by security agents on Sunday, June 27, 2021.
Following this, the trial court on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, remanded him in the custody of DSS, where he remains to date.
On Friday, April 8, 2022, the court struck out eight out of the 15-count charges FG preferred against him on the premise that they lacked substance.
Likewise, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, on Thursday, October 13, 2022, ordered Kanu’s immediate release from detention and quashed the charge against him.
Dissatisfied, FG appealed to the Supreme Court and persuaded the appellate court to suspend execution of its judgment pending appeal.
On Friday, December 15, 2023, the Supreme Court vacated the appellate court’s judgment and allowed FG to try Kanu on the remaining seven-count charge.
