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The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed a fresh date to rule on a “no-case submission” filed by Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
IPOB is a group leading the agitation for an independent state of Biafra which it wants carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south Nigeria.
Mr Kanu is facing terrorism charges at the Abuja court.
During the last hearing in July, the court fixed 10 October to decide whether or not to free Mr Kanu from the terrorism charges against him.
The trial judge, James Omotosho, fixed the date for the ruling after listening to lawyers’ arguments in support and against the IPOB leader’s no-case submission which was filed in June.
Fresh date
Aloy Ejimakor, a lawyer to Mr Kanu, announced on Monday that the court has now brought forward from 10 October fixed for the ruling to 26 September.
“The scheduled ruling on Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s no-case submission has been abridged from 10th October 2025 to Friday, 26th September 2025,” Mr Ejimakor wrote on X.
The lawyer uploaded on the microblogging platform a copy of the hearing notice notifying Mr Kanu’s legal team of the new date.
The document was dated 22 September, and signed by the court registrar.
Background
Mr Kanu was first arrested in 2015 under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Court of Appeal, Abuja, on 13 October 2022, held that the IPOB leader was extraordinarily renditioned to Nigeria, that the action was a flagrant violation of the country’s extradition treaty, and that it also breached his fundamental human rights.
The court, therefore, struck out the terrorism charges filed against Mr Kanu by the Nigerian government and ordered his release from the facility of the State Security Service.
But the government refused to release the IPOB leader until it exhausted its right of appeal in the matter.
The government, through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, later appealed the judgement and convinced the Court of Appeal, which freed Mr Kanu, to stay the execution of the judgement.
Delivering judgement on the appeal on 15 December 2023, the Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s acquittal granted to Mr Kanu and consequently ordered continuation of his trial at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
On 19 June 2025, the Nigerian government closed its case against the IPOB leader at the Federal High Court in Abuja, after the fifth prosecution finished his testimony and was cross-examined by Mr Kanu’s lawyer, Onyechi Ikpeazu.
However, rather than open his defence, Mr Kanu, through his lawyers, said he would file a no-case submission to seek the dismissal of the charges on the grounds that the evidence presented by the prosecution failed to establish any case against him to warrant him entering any defence.
Trial judge James Omotosho asked the parties to file and exchange their written submissions on the no-case application and fixed 18 July for hearing.
During the July hearing, prosecution lawyer Adegboyega Awomolo urged the court to dismiss Mr Kanu’s application and order him to enter his defence.
Mr Awomolo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), argued that the prosecution had led enough evidence to establish a prima facie case against the IPOB leader.
But Mr Kanu’s lawyer, Kanu Agabi, also a SAN, argued that the prosecution failed to prove any of the terrorism charges brought against his client.
Mr Agabi contended that no evidence was tendered to show that anyone acted on Mr Kanu’s alleged broadcasts via a pirate radio, Radio Biafra.
The court then fixed 10 October for ruling, now rescheduled to come up on 26 September.
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