Court Fixes November 20 for Verdict on Kanu’s Terror Trial

A court in Abuja has set 20 November as the date to rule on the terror charges facing Nnamdi Kanu, the jailed head of the Indigenous People of Biafra group.

Judge James Omotosho made the announcement on Friday, after Kanu skipped his chance to start his defence. The court had given him six full days to do so, but he let them pass without action. The judge made clear that Kanu could not now cry foul over a lack of fair play, since he had turned down the time offered.

That same day, Kanu’s lawyers lodged a fresh plea to scrap the whole trial. They claimed the old law on terror acts had been scrapped, so the charges no longer hold water in Nigeria. Kanu insisted there were no grounds against him and asked the court to drop the case and set him free.