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Why I Listed Sanwo-Olu, Wike, Umahi, Military Chiefs, Others As My Witnesses – Nnamdi Kanu
Incarcerated leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), lNnamdi Kanu, has explained why he wants governors, ministers and former military chiefs among notable personalities he listed as witnesses in his terrorism case.
The IPOB leader, whose no-case submission was dismissed by Justice James Omotosho, is due to open his defence on the trial.
Ministers Nyesom Wike (FCT), David Umahi (Works), former Army chiefs Gen. Theophilus Danjuma and Gen. Tukur Buratai are among the 23 witnesses whose names were frontloaded by the IPOB leader.
Also listed as witnesses are Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, former Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, Director-General of the Director of State Service (DSS) Oluwatosin Ajayi, his predecessor, Yusuf Bichi, and former Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Ahmed Rufai Abubakar.
In a document filed on Wednesday, which he personally signed, Kanu prayed the court to extend the six days earlier granted him to conduct his defence to 90 days.
Justice Omotosho at the last hearing, granted his request for a private meeting with his team of lawyers on October 22 in the courtroom of the Federal High Court in Abuja, preparatory for today’s commencement of his defence.
In the document, Kanu categorised his witnesses into two: “ordinary, but material defence witnesses (voluntary) and “material and vital witnesses (to be summoned under Section 232 of the Evidence Act 2011).”
He also indicated his intention to testify in person.
According to the document, Kanu said he plans to call Wike “to testify on the Obigbo Massacre, following the EndSARS protests and the role of security forces under his authority.”
He said Uzodinma is “to testify on public statements, following Ahmed Gulak’s death and subsequent clarification exonerating IPOB.”
Kanu said he would be inviting Gen. Danjuma “to testify on his 2018 public warning, urging self-defence against infiltrated armed forces, contextualizing the defendant’s advocacy for self-defence.”
He said Buratai would “testify on the 2017 invasion of the defendant’s residence and the chain of command authorizing the military operation.”
Kanu said Sanwo-Olu will “testify on the findings of the Lagos State EndSARS Judicial Panel, particularly the Lekki Toll-Gate massacre, evidencing state patter of repression.”
Umahi is scheduled “to testify regarding the proscription of IPOB without judicial order and its consequences,” while Ikpeazu will “testify on his knowledge and administrative participation In the 2017 military invasion within Abia State.”
Kanu wants Malami “to testify on directives and authorizations connected with the defendant’s extraordinary rendition from Kenya in June 2021.”
Also, Ajayi is being invited “to clarify on his pubic lectures and statements on terrorists and invaders, relevant to interpreting the defendant’s own broadcasts.”
Kanu said Bichi should “testify on knowledge and authorization of rendition operations, custody conditions, and compliance with legal procedures.”
He said Abubakar is expected” to testify on the operational and diplomatic coordination of the rendition.”
Kanu said a DSS official, whose name he failed to disclose, will be invited “to be cross-examined regarding direct involvement in the defendant’s abduction and illegal transfer, fabrication of witness statements, and custodial abuses.”
Those he listed as ordinary witnesses include Chief Emeka Umeagbalasi, who he described as an “expert in political history and self-determination.”
According to the document, Umeagbalasi “will testify on the historical and legal context of self-determination movements (such as IPOB) and their treatment under Nigerian and international law, including extra-judicial killings of the defendant’s associates.”
Mazi Benjamin Madubugwu, an”associate of the defendant and former co-accused” is expected to “testify to the internal structure and objectives of IPOB, refuting claims that it is a terrorist organization.”
Chief Dan Ulasi, a community leader in Umuahia, Abia State, is being invited to “testify on the perception of the defendant’s broadcasts as political commentary rather than incitement.”
Bruce Fein, described as an international human rights and constitutional lawyer, based in Washington, D.C., United States, would “testify on the illegality of the defendant’s extraordinary rendition and its implications for jurisdiction and fair trial.”
Emeritus Professor Martin Aghaji, who Kanu said is his “treating physician,” is to “testify on the defendant’s medical condition, effects of detention, and fitness to stand trial.”
Barry Sutton, a “digital-security expert at the Massachussets Institute of Technology, Massachussets MA, USA, would “examine the integrity of the electronic evidence, including chain of custody, authenticity, and tampering issues.”
Chief Godwin I. Chionye, described as a “senior lawyer and community elder” from Isiama Afaraukwu Ibeku Umuahia, Abia State, is to “testify on the defendant’s good character and standing in his community.”
Prince Emmanuel Kanu of No. 1 Eze Okwu-Kanu Close, Umuahia, Abia State, described as an “eyewitness to the 2017 military invasion of the defendant’s residence,” is expected to “testify to the events, casualties, and use of excessive force by the army.”
Kanu said he will, in his testimony, provide “a sworn account of the facts, denying the allegations, and explaining the political context of his statements and actions.”
Part of the document reads: “Notice of number and names of witnesses to be called by the defendant and request for witness summons/subpoena and the variation of the time within which to defend the counts/charges against the defendant.
“Take notice that pursuant to the order of this honourable court made on the 16th day of October 2025, directing the defendant to commence his defence on the 24th day of October 2025, the defendant shall call a total of twenty three (23) witnesses, divided into two categories, viz:
*Category A – ordinary, but material defence witnesses (voluntary).
*Category B – vital and compellable witnesses (to be summoned under Section 232 of the Evidence Act, 2011).
“Given the materiality of the prospective evidence of the witnesses slated for the defence of the defendant, the time frame within which the defendant is ordered to present and conduct defence of the charges appears grossly inadequate, hence your lordship is urged to vary the timeframe and accommodate at least a period of 90 days for the defence.
“The Registrar of the of the court be ordered to issue subpoenas or witness summons on Category B witnesses or be permitted
“The defendant respectfully prays this honourable court to issue all necessary summonses and witness warrants under Sections 241-242 of the Evidence Act, 2011 and under the inherent jurisdiction
“The defendant undertakes to provide the sworn statements of all voluntary witnesses to this honourable court and to notify the prosecution within a reasonable time.
“The honourable court to note that the appearance of these witnesses is essential to ensuring a fair and complete determination of the issues before the court and the honourable court and the entirety of Nigeria will enjoy the robust evidence that would surface.
“No precious time of the honourable court would be delayed and it would interest the honourable court and the general public that justice is not only done but manifestly seen to have been done.”
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expelled Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike, its suspended National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, and former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose.
Their expulsion was announced on Saturday at the party’s National Convention in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has insisted that there is Christian genocide ongoing in Nigeria, hence demanding end to the alleged Christian killings.
Speaking on Thursday after an emergency executive meeting of the Fellowship held at its national headquarters in Lagos, PFN President, Bishop Francis Wale Oke, said the body would no longer remain silent while Christians are “targeted, killed, raped, and displaced” across the country.
He said: “There is Christian genocide going on in Nigeria. If we call it by any other name, it will bring Nigeria down. We are crying out to our international friends, beginning with America and Donald Trump. Whatever you can do to help our government put an end to it, come quickly and get it done. When on Christmas Day, Christmas Day was turned a bloody day in Benue State, and hundreds were massacred. And we are to be conducting mass funerals when we are not in open conflict. What do you call that? And this is different from individual cases.
“Let us call a spade a spade. There is Christian genocide ongoing in Nigeria,”Bishop Oke declared.
“Even while we speak, killings are still taking place in Borno, Plateau, and Benue states. When 501 Christians were massacred in Dogon Noma in Plateau, what do we call that? When Christmas Day turned into a bloody day in Benue, with hundreds massacred, what name should we give it?
While noting that the United States President Donald Trump spoke the truth, the PRN President cited the case of Leah Sharibu who was abducted alongside other Chibok girls and has since remained in captivity.
“Like the case of Leah Sharibu. Where is Leah Sharibu? Like the case of Deborah that was lynched and burned alive in Sokoto? What about that? And several of our girls were kidnapped and forced, given out as wives by force without the consent of their parents and their Christian parents. And the Christian parents would not see them for years.And this has been going on. We have been talking and we are not taking it seriously. And it has been going on again and again, until Donald Trump now spoke. And Donald Trump spoke the truth. There is Christian genocide going on in Nigeria.
“Like you will have picked in the news, even since this narrative began, killing was still going on in Borno, in Plateau, in Benue, up until yesterday. What are we saying? When 501 Christians were massacred in Dogonaya in Plateau State, what do we call that? And for no offense other than they are Christians.”
Oke recalled that the Christian community had repeatedly called the attention of the government to the alleged genocide with no decisive action from the authority.
The cleric expressed his backing for President Trump’s intervention, adding that Trump only echoed what Nigerian Christians had been saying for year
“I was part of the team that went to see the immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari. We spoke very strongly about this and the President listened to us, but he completely ignored the main issue we came for, If we came and spoke with such vehemence, with such passion, and then you pick the peripheral matter and left this matter alone, I knew that day that his government was complicit in what was going on,” he added.
Oke alleged that the killings across parts of Nigeria were systematic and targeted on Christians, lamenting that the killings had continued unchecked despite repeated appeals from the Church.
“The evidence is all over the place. There is nothing anybody can say that can whitewash it. It is evil, it is blood shedding, it is mass murder and it is genocide. The time to stop it is now. That is what the church in Nigeria is saying with one voice.
“Christians in this nation must be free to practice their faith in any part of Nigeria as bona fide citizens of Nigeria.
“These armed bandits, Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram, ISWAP, all of them using Islam as a cover. We have been living in peace with our Muslim brothers for a long, until this violent Islamic sect came up with an intent to make sure they impose Sharia on all Nigerians,” Oke said.
Bishop Oke called on President Bola Tinubu to decisively overhaul the nation’s security architecture, and ensure justice for victims of religious violence. He questioned why those responsible for notorious attacks—such as the killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto and the abduction of Leah Sharibu and the Chibok schoolgirls—remain unpunished.
“The government should prove by action, not words, that it is not complicit,” he said. “When hundreds are buried in mass graves and the whole world sees it, who can deny it? Why should we play politics with the blood of Nigerians?”
The PFN urged President Tinubu’s administration to rebuild trust by ensuring that the security architecture of the country is not infiltrated by those sympathetic to extremist ideologies.
Oke further condemned the government’s rehabilitation of so-called “repentant terrorists,” describing the move as a grave security.
He assured Christians that the PFN would continue to speak out until the killings stop. “We are not going to keep quiet. We will keep raising our voices until justice is done and every Nigerian, regardless of faith, can live in peace. The truth may be suppressed for a time, but it cannot be buried forever,” he said.
The meeting, which drew PFN leaders from across the country, reaffirmed the body’s commitment to national unity, peace, and the protection of fundamental human rights, while urging the media to “side with the oppressed” and report the truth without fear or bias.
US President Donald Trump has signed a federal spending bill, officially ending the longest government shutdown in American history.
The legislation, passed by the House of Representatives in a 222–209 vote, followed narrow approval in the Senate just two days earlier. The bill restores funding to federal agencies after 43 days of closure, bringing relief to millions of government employees and citizens affected by halted services.
Speaking after signing the measure on Wednesday night, Trump described the deal as a political victory, asserting that Democrats unnecessarily prolonged the shutdown.
“They didn’t want to do it the easy way. They had to do it the hard way, and they look very bad,” he said.
The temporary funding bill maintains government operations only through 30 January, creating a new deadline for lawmakers to negotiate a long-term budget solution.
As part of the agreement, Senate leaders committed to an early December vote on Obamacare subsidies, a key priority for Democrats during the shutdown standoff.
In addition to reopening federal offices, the bill provides full-year funding for the Department of Agriculture, military construction projects, and several legislative branch offices.
It also ensures retroactive pay for federal workers affected by the shutdown and allocates funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, which helps about one in eight Americans access food.
The shutdown, which began in October, forced the suspension of many government services, leaving an estimated 1.4 million federal employees either furloughed or working without pay. It also disrupted food assistance programmes and caused widespread delays in domestic air travel.
With federal operations now resumed, attention in Washington has turned to whether Congress and the White House can reach a longer-term funding agreement before the new deadline at the end of January.
