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Lists Gen. Danjuma, Govs Uzodinma, Sanwo-Olu, Wike as witnesses
From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Detained leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu has expressed his readiness to open his defence in the terrorism charges against him as he listed high-profile personalities as his potential witnesses.
They include a former Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd); Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and his Imo State counterpart, Senator Hope Uzodinma, and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
In the motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015 and dated 20 October 2025 but filed on 21 October 2025, titled “Notice of Number and Names of Witnesses to be Called by the Defendant and Request for Witness Summons/Subpoena and the Variation of the Time Within Which to Defend the Counts/Charges against the Defendant.”
Kanu said the motion was “pursuant to the order of this honourable court made on the 16th day of October 2025, directing the defendant to commence his defence on the 24th day of October 2025.”
Kanu informed the court of his plan to call a total of 23 witnesses, divided into two categories.
The first category, he said, would be those he called “ordinary but material witnesses.”
He further informed the court that his second category of witnesses would be “vital and compellable” and shall be “summoned under Section 232 of the Evidence Act, 2011.”
He prayed the court that, in view of the number of witnesses he intends to call, the court should consider granting a 90-day timeframe to enable him to conclude his defence.
He told the court that he would “testify on his own behalf, providing a sworn account of the facts, denying the allegations, and explaining the political context of his statements and actions.”
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Among those he categorised as “compellable witnesses” are the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike; a former Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd); former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd); Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and Gov. Hope Uzodinma of Imo.
Others are Minister of Works, Dave Umahi; the immediate-past Governor of Abia, Okezie Ikpeazu; the immediate-past Director-General (DG), National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufai Abubakar; former DG of the State Security Service, Yusuf Bichi; and several witnesses whose identities he did not reveal.
The IPOB leader promised to “provide the sworn statements of all voluntary witnesses to this honourable court, and to notify the prosecution within a reasonable time.”
He assured that “no precious time of the honourable court would be delayed.”
Besides, Kanu assured that “it would interest the honourable court and the general public that justice is not only done but manifestly seen to have been done.”
The latest motion came after the detained IPOB leader had filed a motion of preliminary objection on Thursday, challenging the jurisdiction of the court to continue with his trial.
He had filed the objection the same day a team of medical experts empanelled by the court to determine his health status turned in a report that he was medically fit to stand trial.
Meanwhile, there are speculations that Kanu may have fired his legal team led by a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF), Kanu Agabi.
