Nigerian separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu has taken over his own legal defence after dismissing the lawyers who had been representing him in his ongoing terrorism and incitement case.
The 58-year-old, who heads the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob), announced the decision in court on Thursday as his defence hearing began.
Kanu told the court that he would personally handle his case, claiming the court lacked authority to prosecute him — an argument the presiding judge immediately rejected.
The court maintained that jurisdiction had already been addressed in earlier proceedings and directed him to proceed with his defence.
The development came just a day after Kanu named several prominent Nigerians, among them former Attorney General Abubakar Malami, as witnesses in his case. He did not explain why he dismissed his legal team, and the lawyers have not issued any statement regarding the decision.
Kanu, who also holds British citizenship, has been in detention since his re-arrest in 2021.
He has repeatedly accused the government of disobeying court orders, saying his continued incarceration violates a previous Court of Appeal ruling that dismissed the charges against him before they were reinstated by the Supreme Court.
“The Nigerian government is in contempt of court for ignoring the appellate judgment that freed me,” Kanu told the judge during the session. However, the court ruled that the issue had been settled during earlier proceedings.
His trial continues to spark tension across parts of Nigeria, with his supporters demanding his unconditional release. Police in Abuja fired tear gas on Monday to disperse demonstrators calling for his freedom outside the court premises.
Ipob, which Kanu leads, was declared a terrorist organisation in 2017, and its paramilitary wing—the Eastern Security Network—has been accused of carrying out violent attacks in the southeast.
Kanu’s supporters, however, insist he is a political prisoner targeted for championing the independence of the Biafran region.
He was first arrested in 2015 but fled the country two years later following a military raid on his home. His bail was revoked in 2019, and he was later re-arrested in 2021 under circumstances his lawyers say involved his abduction from Kenya—a claim Nairobi has never publicly addressed.
Despite facing years of legal battles, Kanu remains a symbolic figure for many in the southeast, where calls for Biafran independence continue to find support.
