Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has overruled the no-case submission filed by Kanu’s lawyers.
This application followed the Federal Government’s presentation of witnesses, evidence, and closing of its case against the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Following the dismissal of the no-case submission, the judge asked Kanu to enter his defence.
SaharaReporters earlier on Friday reported that the detained IPOB leader had arrived at the Federal High Court in Abuja for the final ruling on the application he filed for his release.
Kanu, led by the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), arrived at the court in the company of his legal team led by the former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister for Justice, Kanu G. Agabi (SAN).
On Monday, SaharaReporters reported that the high court had brought forward the trial date for Kanu to address his application for release.
The hearing, initially scheduled for October 10, was moved to Friday, September 26, before Justice Omotosho.
The main terrorism trial against Kanu was scheduled to resume on October 10, 2025, when the court was expected to rule on the no-case submission filed by Kanu’s lawyers after the Federal Government had called witnesses, presented evidence, and closed its case against the IPOB leader.
Earlier in September, the Federal High Court in Abuja adjourned the application filed by Kanu’s lawyers, requesting that their client be transferred to the National Hospital for urgent medical treatment.
Justice Musa Liman adjourned the matter as his tenure as a vacation judge had ended, coinciding with the conclusion of the Federal High Court judges’ vacation on the same day.
Emmanuel Kanu, Nnamdi Kanu’s younger brother, had filed a 14-paragraph affidavit stating that his brother suffered from a life-threatening heart condition and that the medical facilities he was granted access to were inadequate for proper treatment.
During the hearing, Uchenna Njoku, Senior Advocate of Nigeria and counsel to Nnamdi Kanu, informed the court that the Federal Government’s lawyers had served a 37-page counter-affidavit earlier that morning, leaving him insufficient time to review it.
Njoku requested additional time to study the document before proceedings could continue. With the judges’ vacation ending that day, Justice Liman’s jurisdiction as a vacation judge was also set to lapse.
Adegboyega Awomolo, lead counsel for the Federal Government, agreed with Njoku, noting that it was unfortunate the matter had not been scheduled earlier, as his team was ready to address it at any time.
In his final remarks, Justice Liman expressed concern over whether he could rule on the matter as a vacation judge given the limited time remaining.
He stated that he had agreed to hear the case due to its urgency, emphasizing that it involves serious health concerns that could be a matter of life and death.
The judge directed that the case be returned to the Central Registrar for transfer to Justice James Omotosho.
