The lead counsel to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has withdrawn from his ongoing terrorism trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Kanu Agabi, a former Attorney-General of the Federation, announced his decision to step down during Thursday’s proceedings, saying the defendant had decided to take full control of his legal defence.
“All the Senior Advocates of Nigeria involved in this matter have also withdrawn their representation,” Agabi told the court.
Confirming the development, Kanu said he would be representing himself for now but did not rule out engaging new counsel in the future.
When asked by the trial judge, Justice James Omotosho, if the court should assign a lawyer to him, Kanu declined the offer, insisting on self-representation.
During the brief hearing, the IPOB leader also raised a fresh argument, stating that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to try him on terrorism-related charges.
The case, which has drawn both national and international attention, resumed after Justice Omotosho had earlier granted Kanu six consecutive days — starting October 23 — to open and close his defence in an accelerated hearing.
Kanu is facing a seven-count charge bordering on terrorism, which the Federal Government filed following his re-arrest and extradition to Nigeria in 2021. He has repeatedly denied the allegations, describing the charges as politically motivated and a violation of his right to self-determination.
The mass withdrawal of his legal team marks a new twist in a case that has sparked years of political, ethnic, and legal debate over separatist movements in Nigeria’s South-East region.