Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday, ordered counsel to the Federal Government, Adegboyega Awomolo SAN, to serve all relevant documents and materials to Kanu Agabi SAN, the lawyer representing the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, in his on going trial.
He gave the directive at the resumed trial of Kanu, who is being prosecuted by the Federal Government over alleged terrorism acts.
At a resumed trial, the court ordered that all materials intended for trial must be served in advance and listed properly, stressing that no document would be admitted unless previously disclosed to the defence.
The prosecution said it had filed a motion for the release of certain items already tendered as exhibits—specifically, items numbered 1 to 28 and 30 to 39.
However, the court directed that the motion must be refiled, with each exhibit explicitly identified and properly referenced.
The trial continued with the cross-examination of the first prosecution witness (PW1), identified as AAA, who upon questioning by Agabi, admitted to being unaware that several terrorism charges against Kanu had been struck out by the court.
The PWI also admitted not knowing the current status of many of the original 15-count charges filed against Kanu by the FG.
When re-examined by the prosecution counsel, the witness claimed that Kanu’s activities amounted to agitation for the secession of parts of Nigeria.
A second prosecution witness (PW2), identified as BBB, told the court that he was assigned by the Attorney General of the Federation to investigate Kanu.
He described Nnamdi Kanu as the operator of Radio Biafra and the founder of the Eastern Security Network.
Efforts by the prosecution counsel to tender a letter authorising the witness’s investigation were resisted by Agabi, who raised objecion on the grounds that the document was not frontloaded.
The prosecution later withdrew the document, and the court granted the withdrawal.
There was disagreement over the admissibility of a video evidence presented by the defence.
While the prosecution expressed readiness to proceed with trial for three consecutive days as previously planned, Agabi requested a pause to allow for client consultation.
The matter was subsequently adjourned to May 7 for the continuation of trial, specifically for the examination-in-chief of the second witness, BBB.
Earlier, the court had taken a firm stance on trial procedures following confusion over legal representation on the part of the defence.
A letter from one Charles Ude, claiming to be Kanu’s lawyer, sparked an argument in court, lead defence counsel, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, disassociated his team from Ude’s claim, with the IPOB leader confirming that Agabi remains his official legal representative.
In a bid to maintain order, the presiding judge stressed that only 16 counsel out of the 26 listed would be recognised in court.