Courtroom Clash Raises Fresh Questions in Nnamdi Kanu Trial After Prosecution’s Silence

• A tense courtroom exchange on November 4, 2025, during the trial of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has sparked widespread legal debate after the prosecution allegedly failed to state the law under which the separatist leader is being tried.

A dramatic exchange in court on November 4, 2025, has ignited renewed controversy over the ongoing trial of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, with legal experts and members of the public questioning the conduct of the prosecution.

According to court records and legal observers, the moment unfolded when Kanu directly challenged the lead prosecutor, Chief Adewola Awomolo, SAN, to clearly state the law backing the charges against him. Kanu reportedly asked the senior advocate to “stand up and tell this court the law” under which he was being tried and to read the relevant statute into the record.

What followed has become a focal point of legal scrutiny. Chief Awomolo neither stood up nor cited any statute in response to the challenge. He did not object, request time to respond, or deny the claim. Analysts say that in a criminal trial operating under an adversarial system, such silence is highly unusual and potentially significant.

Legal practitioners note that prosecutors are expected to clearly identify the offence-creating law, establish the court’s jurisdiction, and respond decisively to jurisdictional challenges. On that day, critics argue, none of these steps were taken, leaving the court record without a clearly stated statutory basis for the prosecution.

The situation was further complicated by the court’s handling of the exchange. Rather than compelling the prosecution to respond directly, the presiding judge, Justice Binta Nyako Omotosho, reportedly redirected proceedings, deferred jurisdictional arguments, and cautioned the defendant on issues of “waiver.” Some legal commentators have described this moment as a turning point in the trial, arguing that it weakened the adversarial balance of the proceedings.

For many observers, the issue appeared straightforward: a defendant asked the prosecution to identify the law under which he was being prosecuted, and no answer was provided, yet the trial continued. Critics contend that this raises serious concerns about due process and the fairness of the proceedings.

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Others argue that the silence was not accidental. As a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Awomolo is widely regarded as fully aware of the legal implications of such an omission. Some legal analysts suggest that the prosecution relied on judicial intervention to move the trial forward, a situation they describe as complicity by omission rather than simple oversight.

The November 4 exchange has since become central to several anticipated grounds of appeal, including alleged lack of jurisdiction, absence of a clearly stated statutory offence, violation of constitutional rights, judicial bias, and prosecutorial misconduct.

As the trial continues, legal experts say the incident now forms a permanent part of the court record—one that could have lasting implications for the case and for broader debates about the rule of law and criminal justice in Nigeria.

By Onyedikachi Ifedi, Esq.