Kanu Agabi, the former Attorney-General of the Federation and lead counsel to the detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, applied on Thursday to withdraw his legal representation in the ongoing terrorism trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
When the matter, which concerns a seven-count charge bordering on terrorism filed by the Federal Government, was called, Agabi informed the court that he and the entire legal team were stepping down.
He explained that the defendant “had decided to take back the case from them.” Following this, “all the Senior Advocates of Nigeria involved in the case” also announced their withdrawal.
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Confirming the development, Kanu himself told the court that he would be “representing himself for now,” though he noted that “the position might change later.”
The trial judge, Justice James Omotosho, asked the defendant if he should assign a lawyer to represent him, but Kanu “declined.”
Despite the lack of legal representation, Kanu immediately addressed the court orally to open his defense, arguing that the court “lacked jurisdiction to try him.”
The development occurred on the day Kanu was scheduled to begin his defense, as Justice Omotosho had, on October 16, granted the defendant “six consecutive days, beginning from October 23,” to open and close his defense in view of the “accelerated hearing” earlier granted.
This latest move comes after Kanu recently listed a number of high-profile figures as his witnesses, including former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami; Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike; Minister of Works, Dave Umahi; Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; a former Chief of Army Staff, Gen Tukur Buratai (rtd); and a former Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), among others.
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