Mazi Nnamdi Kanu Court Update: October 23, 2025

 Mazi Nnamdi Kanu Court Update: October 23, 2025 Today marks a significant milestone in the ongoing terrorism trial of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, lea...

 Mazi Nnamdi Kanu Court Update: October 23, 2025

Today marks a significant milestone in the ongoing terrorism trial of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), at the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice James Omotosho. After multiple adjournments, including recent delays due to health assessments by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), the court has confirmed Kanu is fit to stand trial. Proceedings are set to commence for Kanu's defense phase, with a tight timeline to conclude within one week (by October 30, 2025). This follows the prosecution's closure of its case in June 2025, after presenting five witnesses (all Department of State Services officers) and numerous exhibits.

Kanu is expected to open his defense today, personally testifying as his first witness. In a motion filed on October 21, 2025, he outlined plans to call 23 witnesses in total, divided into:

Compellable Witnesses (high-profile figures subpoenaed by the court): These include former Nigerian officials implicated in his 2021 extraordinary rendition from Kenya, such as:

Former Attorney General Abubakar Malami

Former Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai

Former Minister of Defence Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi (retd.)

Former Inspector General of Police Usman Baba

Current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike

Others like former DSS Director-General Yusuf Bichi and Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas

Kanu has requested a 90-day extension to accommodate the subpoenas and testimonies, arguing the volume requires time for due process. The court has not yet ruled on this, but proceedings begin regardless.

Earlier "no-case submissions" by Kanu's team (filed July 2025) were rejected, with the Court upholding the need for a defense. Kanu denies all seven counts of treasonable felony, terrorism, and managing an unlawful society, claiming his broadcasts were political advocacy, not incitement.

The NMA panel's report, submitted recently, cleared Kanu for trial, addressing prior concerns about his detention conditions at the DSS facility. His team had sought a transfer to a hospital, but the court prioritized proceeding.

Tensions escalated this week with the arrest of Kanu's lead counsel, Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, his brother Prince Emmanuel Kanu, and 10 others during a #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest in Abuja on October 20. They were remanded in Kuje Prison on charges of disrupting traffic and chanting for Kanu's release, drawing human rights backlash. Ejimakor, despite his detention, confirmed via associates that today's hearing proceeds.

Kanu's witness list has been dubbed a "court ambush" by observers, forcing accountability from top officials on his rendition ruled illegal by a Kenyan court and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. This could expose state overreach, echoing calls from international bodies like the UK Parliament and US Congress for his release. Supporters view it as a strategic pivot to globalize the case.

Don’t Go Away, we shall bring you live update from Federal High Court Abuja.

Family Writers Press International.