Nnamdi Kanu Will Henceforth Defend Himself in Resumed Trial, Family Declares

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

There would no longer be any. legal team defending Nnamdi Kanu when his trial resumes on Friday March 21, 2025 before Justice James Omotosho at the Federal High Court Abuja, his family has said.

This was made known Tuesday in a statement by the spokesman of the family, Emmanuel Kanu, younger brother of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB).

Emmanuel said Kanu “would be taking the bold step of defending himself in court” and would no longer be relying on legal counsels to plead his cause as had been obtainable since his trial began in 2023.

“This development signals a critical juncture in this case that has already exposed deep-seated concerns about the Nigerian judiciary’s handling of matters tied to the legitimate agitation for Biafra self-determination,” he said.

The family spokesman explained that “Onyendu (Kanu)’s shift to self-defense underscores our distrust in a system perceived to be stacked against us and the cause he champions.”

According to him, Kanu’s decision to do away with lawyers was intentional as “the absence of traditional legal representation will dismantle the usual, ‘as my lord pleases’ constraints that govern judicial proceedings in Nigeria.”

Emmanuel noted that the usual over indulgence of judges by lawyers “has for decades allowed the courts to brazenly subvert the cause of justice under a cloak of deference that shield rather than expose injustice.”

He stated that by defending himself in court, “the very foundations of the institutional bias that has long plagued (Kanu’s trial) will be laid bare for the world to see.

“This decision by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu comes on the heels of successfully forcing the recusal of Justice Binta Nyako that brazenly defied the Supreme Court of Nigeria through her selective implementation of determination contained in their judgement,” he said.

Emmanuel, however, regretted that the recused Justice Nyako “was hell-bent on convicting a person for exercising a right that the laws of Nigeria stated unambiguously that he could (enjoy such right).”