On Thursday, June 19, 2025, Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), informed the Federal High Court in Abuja that he has no case to answer after the Federal Government closed its terrorism and treasonable felony case against him. The prosecution, led by Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, concluded its case following the testimony of its fifth witness, an operative of the Department of State Services (DSS) identified as EEE, who testified behind a protective screen. Awomolo stated that the evidence from five witnesses sufficiently established the seven-count charge against Kanu, prompting the prosecution to rest its case. In response, Kanu’s lead counsel, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, announced the defendant’s intention to file a no-case submission, arguing that the prosecution’s evidence failed to establish a prima facie case. Justice James Omotosho granted both parties 14 days to file written addresses and two days for replies on points of law, adjourning the case to July 18, 2025, for adoption of the no-case submission.
The fifth witness testified that Kanu’s radio broadcasts during the 2020 EndSARS protests incited violence, leading to the deaths of 186 police officers and the destruction of 164 police stations. The witness, part of a DSS team tasked with assessing protest-related damage, tendered a damage assessment report, death certificates, and a certificate of compliance, which were admitted as evidence despite objections from Kanu’s lawyer, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, who reserved reasons for the final address. Kanu, arrested on October 14, 2015, was granted bail on health grounds on April 25, 2017, but fled Nigeria after a military raid on his home in Umuahia, Abia State, killed some followers. Re-arrested in Kenya on June 19, 2021, and renditioned to Nigeria, Kanu has been in DSS custody since June 29, 2021. The court struck out eight of the original 15 charges on April 8, 2022, and the Court of Appeal ordered his release on October 13, 2022, but the Supreme Court, on December 15, 2023, reinstated the seven-count charge, allowing the trial to proceed.
Posts on X, such as from @SaharaReporters and @Naija_PR, reflect polarized sentiments, with IPOB supporters like @Simon_Ekpa hailing Kanu’s no-case move as evidence of a weak prosecution, while others, like @BashirAhmaad, back the government’s stance, citing the EndSARS violence. The no-case submission, if successful, could lead to Kanu’s discharge, ending a trial that has drawn international attention, with Amnesty International and Ohanaeze Ndigbo urging his release on health grounds, per a 2024 Punch report. The case’s outcome hinges on whether the court finds the prosecution’s evidence, including broadcast transcripts and damage reports, sufficient to warrant a defense, amid ongoing debates over Kanu’s rendition and detention conditions.
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