Chapter 31: The Federal High Court Trial (The “No Defence” Gamble)

Timeframe: January – November 2025
Location: Federal High Court Abuja, Courtroom 2
Key Actors: Justice Binta Nyako (pretrial), Justice K. Omotosho (trial), DSS witnesses PW1–PW5, defence lawyers Ifeanyi Ejiofor & Mike Ozekhome

Epigraph:

"Our withdrawal is a protest against a process determined to convict regardless of evidence."
— Ifeanyi Ejiofor, press scrum, 20 October 2025 [1].

The Narrative Opening

The Camera Lens

The courtroom’s glass dock reflected the fluorescent lights as Kanu adjusted his glasses. His principal lawyers had just withdrawn, alleging bias. Justice Omotosho warned that the case would proceed regardless. When asked if he would testify, Kanu shook his head: “I will rest on the prosecution’s evidence.” The gamble meant the State’s narrative would go unchallenged in open court.

Section 1: The Withdrawal — Counsel walks away

Punch reported that Ejiofor and Ozekhome withdrew after accusing the court of denying them time to review fresh evidence and of shielding anonymous witnesses beyond what the Terrorism Prevention Act permits [1]. The judge allowed the withdrawal, appointed an amicus, and directed the trial to continue. Legal scholars were split: some saw civil disobedience; others saw strategic miscalculation.

Section 2: The “Secret” Witnesses — Masked testimony

Daily Trust described how five DSS operatives testified behind screens with altered voices [2]. Defence counsel could not see them; cross-examination relied on transcripts. The court cited the Terrorism Prevention Act and Evidence Act Section 36 to justify anonymity. Critics argued that the arrangement prevented effective confrontation and amplified the risk of hearsay masquerading as fact.

Section 3: Legal Consequence — Resting on the prosecution

By declining to call witnesses, the defence triggered Section 167(b) of the Evidence Act, allowing the court to treat unchallenged testimony as admitted [3]. In effect, sensational claims—like orders for "2,000 heads"—entered the record untested. The moral stand against what Kanu viewed as an illegitimate process thus carried heavy legal costs.

Section 4: Defense Team Perspective — The reasoning behind withdrawal

Ejiofor and Ozekhome's decision to withdraw was not taken lightly. In detailed statements released after the withdrawal, the defense team explained that they had exhausted all procedural remedies: multiple applications for disclosure of evidence were denied, requests for adequate time to review prosecution materials were refused, and challenges to the anonymous witness procedure were overruled. The defense argued that continuing to participate would legitimize a process that violated fundamental fair trial rights, creating precedent that would harm future defendants.

The defense team's internal deliberations, later documented in legal briefs, reveal that they considered multiple strategies before choosing withdrawal. They debated whether to continue participating while filing appeals, whether to call limited witnesses to challenge specific claims, and whether to focus on procedural challenges rather than substantive defense. Ultimately, they concluded that the court's procedural rulings made effective defense impossible, and that withdrawal was the only way to preserve the record for appeal while refusing to legitimize what they viewed as a fundamentally unfair process.

Section 5: Alternative Defense Strategies — What could have been done

Legal analysts have debated whether alternative strategies might have been more effective. Some argue that the defense should have continued participating while filing appeals, maintaining the ability to cross-examine witnesses and challenge evidence in real time. Others contend that the defense could have called limited witnesses to challenge specific sensational claims, such as the "2,000 heads" allegation, without engaging with the broader prosecution narrative. A third approach would have been to focus exclusively on procedural challenges, arguing that the trial's fundamental unfairness required dismissal regardless of evidence.

However, each alternative strategy carried risks. Continuing participation might have legitimized a process the defense viewed as fundamentally flawed. Calling limited witnesses might have been interpreted as accepting the trial's legitimacy while challenging only specific claims. Focusing solely on procedure might have allowed sensational allegations to enter the record unchallenged. The defense team's choice of withdrawal represented a calculation that preserving the record for appeal while refusing to legitimize the process was more valuable than attempting a defense they viewed as impossible.

Section 6: Trial Timeline — Day-by-day proceedings

January 2025: Trial commences before Justice Omotosho, with defense filing preliminary objections. February-March 2025: Prosecution presents masked witnesses PW1-PW3, defense challenges anonymity procedure. April 2025: Defense applications for evidence disclosure denied, requests for adjournment refused. May-June 2025: Prosecution presents PW4 and PW5, defense continues procedural challenges. July-September 2025: Defense files multiple applications challenging trial fairness, all overruled. October 2025: Defense counsel withdraws, citing inability to provide effective representation. November 2025: Trial continues with amicus curiae, defense declines to call witnesses, prosecution closes case. This timeline reveals a pattern of procedural denials that gradually made effective defense impossible, culminating in the withdrawal decision.

Section 7: Prosecution Strategy Analysis — Building a narrative

The prosecution's strategy focused on creating a narrative of terrorism through cumulative testimony rather than direct evidence. By presenting multiple masked witnesses who testified to similar allegations, the prosecution built a pattern of claims that, while individually weak, created an impression of consistency when taken together. The strategy relied on the court's willingness to accept anonymous testimony and the defense's inability to effectively challenge witnesses they could not see or properly cross-examine.

The prosecution also strategically timed evidence presentation to maximize impact, saving the most sensational allegations—such as the "2,000 heads" claim—for later witnesses when defense challenges had been exhausted. This sequencing created a narrative arc that built toward dramatic conclusions, making it difficult for observers to assess individual claims critically. The strategy's effectiveness depended on the court's procedural rulings that limited defense challenges, creating a process where prosecution narrative went largely unchallenged.

Section 8: Witness Analysis — Credibility and contradictions

Forensic analysis of prosecution witnesses reveals significant credibility issues. PW1-PW3 testified to general IPOB activities but provided no direct evidence linking Kanu to specific violent acts. PW4's testimony contained the sensational "2,000 heads" allegation but lacked supporting evidence or corroboration. PW5's testimony focused on financial activities but failed to establish direct links to terrorism financing. The witnesses' anonymity prevented defense from investigating their backgrounds, motivations, or potential biases.

The testimony also contained internal contradictions: different witnesses provided conflicting accounts of the same events, timelines did not align, and specific allegations lacked supporting details. These contradictions might have been exposed through effective cross-examination, but the anonymous witness procedure made such challenges impossible. The witness analysis reveals that the prosecution's case depended on cumulative testimony rather than individual credibility, creating a narrative that was stronger in aggregate than any individual witness's account.

The "Investigative Evidence" Box

Exhibit AE: Certified Court Transcript, 10 November 2025

Captures defence counsel's withdrawal and the judge's ruling that the prosecution "will proceed with or without them," demonstrating the court's determination to continue despite defense objections. The transcript shows PW4's testimony delivered from behind a screen, with objections noted but overruled, revealing how procedural challenges were systematically rejected. This documentation provides the official record of a trial process that defense lawyers viewed as fundamentally unfair.

Exhibit AF: Defense Team Statements and Legal Briefs

Detailed statements from Ejiofor and Ozekhome explain the reasoning behind withdrawal, documenting multiple procedural denials that made effective defense impossible. Legal briefs filed with appellate courts outline the defense's view that continuing participation would legitimize an unfair process. These documents reveal the strategic calculations behind the withdrawal decision and provide the foundation for appeal arguments challenging the trial's fairness.

Exhibit AG: Trial Timeline Documentation

Records show a pattern of procedural denials from January through October 2025, with defense applications consistently overruled. The timeline reveals how the court's rulings gradually eliminated defense options, creating a process where withdrawal became the only way to preserve the record while refusing to legitimize what defense viewed as an unfair trial. This documentation supports arguments that the trial violated fundamental fair trial rights.

The Verdict

The Federal High Court trial was less a contest of facts than a protest against procedure. By staging a walkout, the defence highlighted perceived injustice but also forfeited the chance to dismantle the prosecution's narrative in real time. Yet the deeper analysis reveals a more complex story: the defense team's withdrawal was not a spontaneous act but a calculated decision made after exhausting all procedural remedies. The trial timeline shows a pattern of systematic denials that gradually made effective defense impossible, forcing a choice between legitimizing an unfair process or withdrawing to preserve the record for appeal. The prosecution's strategy relied on cumulative anonymous testimony rather than direct evidence, building a narrative that was difficult to challenge under the court's procedural rulings. Witness analysis reveals significant credibility issues and contradictions that might have been exposed through effective cross-examination, but the anonymous witness procedure made such challenges impossible. The defense's choice to withdraw represented a strategic calculation that preserving the record for appeal while refusing to legitimize the process was more valuable than attempting a defense they viewed as fundamentally impossible.

Chapter Endnotes / Citations

• [1] Punch. (2025, Oct 20). Kanu’s lawyers withdraw from trial, allege bias.
• [2] Daily Trust. (2025, Nov 10). Court okays masked DSS witnesses against Kanu.
• [3] Evidence Act (2011), Section 167(b).

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