Four Days to Terrorism Judgment, Nnamdi Kanu Files Fresh Appeal to Halt Ruling

• Detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu has filed a fresh appeal at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, seeking to stop the Federal High Court from delivering its November 20 terrorism judgment.

Detained IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja seeking an urgent order to stop the Federal High Court from delivering its scheduled judgment in his terrorism trial on November 20.

Kanu’s latest move comes just four days before Justice James Omotosho is expected to rule on the federal government’s case. In a fresh motion on notice, the separatist leader is asking the appellate court to halt all further proceedings, arguing that his appeal against the September 26 ruling—which dismissed his no-case submission—must be decided first.

He contends that the lower court erred by dismissing his no-case submission without addressing the core issues of jurisdiction and the validity of the charges against him. Kanu insists that the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act used to charge him has been repealed, rendering the current charges invalid.

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He also claims Justice Omotosho failed to evaluate the testimonies and cross-examinations of prosecution witnesses and refused to rule on his objections concerning the legality of certain counts. According to him, the court even foreclosed his right to call 23 witnesses unless jurisdictional issues were first resolved — a request the judge declined, saying it would be handled at final judgment.

Kanu argues that if the November 20 judgment proceeds, he risks being unlawfully convicted and his pending appeal rendered “a mere academic exercise,” effectively boxing the Court of Appeal into a corner.

In a 13-paragraph affidavit he personally deposed to, Kanu cited the Supreme Court’s earlier position that Count 7 in his charges was no longer an offence under Nigerian law. He insists that Counts 1–6 are also based on a repealed statute, leaving “no valid charges” before the Federal High Court.

No date has yet been fixed for the hearing of the motion at the Court of Appeal.