The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the no-case submission filed by the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, and ordered him to enter his defence in the terrorism charges brought against him by the Federal Government.
Delivering ruling on Friday, Justice James Omotosho held that the Department of State Services (DSS) had established a prima facie case against Kanu through the testimonies of its five witnesses.
“The evidence presented by the prosecution requires the defendant to offer explanations,” the judge ruled, adding that the prosecution had convinced the court that Kanu had a case to answer.
Kanu had filed a no-case submission after the prosecution closed its case in June, insisting that he had no case to answer.
Meanwhile, the court also directed the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to set up a team of medical experts within eight days to determine Kanu’s health status, following conflicting medical reports from the DSS medical team and Kanu’s private consultants.
Justice Omotosho ordered the NMA President to submit the committee’s findings to the court within eight days to assist in deciding whether Kanu should be transferred to the National Hospital for treatment. The judge further ruled that the panel, which must include between eight and ten NMA members, should comprise a cardiologist, a neurologist, and the Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital.
He also authorised the committee to assess the DSS hospital’s capacity to manage Kanu’s condition and to utilise any hospital in the country for its evaluation.
The DSS lead counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), confirmed the NMA’s involvement while opposing a defence application seeking Kanu’s transfer to the National Hospital. He explained that medical experts had already examined Kanu in custody and that the DSS medical team, led by Dr Mohammed Nasir, was confident his condition could be managed at DSS facilities.
However, Kanu’s private consultants, led by Professor Martin Aghaji, a retired medical professor from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, argued that his deteriorating health required urgent transfer to the National Hospital, with possible treatment abroad.
The DSS dismissed Aghaji’s findings as “exaggerated and suspicious,” alleging that he had unilaterally altered Kanu’s prescribed medication without consulting DSS doctors who had managed his treatment for four years.
Awomolo further contended that moving Kanu to the National Hospital could “disrupt services and pose security risks,” stressing that the government remained committed to his safety and was willing to allow him access to medical experts of his choice within DSS facilities.
But Kanu’s lead counsel, Dr Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), insisted that the transfer request was grounded in Aghaji’s professional report. “It is in the interest of justice that Kanu remains alive to face the charges against him,” he argued, while noting that the defence would not oppose the NMA’s intervention as long as it was court-ordered.
The matter was adjourned to October 8.
