By Anamati Inyang, November 20, 2025
Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday ordered security operatives to remove the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, from the courtroom after a heated confrontation disrupted proceedings.
Kanu repeatedly demanded that the judge indicate where the law prevented him from filing a written address in the terrorism case instituted against him. His persistent outbursts led the court to briefly suspend the session while security personnel escorted him out.
Earlier, Justice Omotosho delivered a ruling dismissing Kanu’s fresh applications, which the court described as a rehash of previously decided issues. The judge declined the defendant’s request to refer the matter to the Court of Appeal, citing Section 306 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, which prohibits the stay of proceedings in criminal trials.
Kanu’s application for bail was also refused, with the judge noting that some of the concerns he raised would be addressed in the final judgement.
Tension heightened again when the court moved to begin the judgement, prompting Kanu to insist loudly that the court lacked jurisdiction without accepting his written address, an insistence that triggered his removal from the courtroom.
