The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed November 20 for judgment in the terrorism case involving the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Justice James Omotosho announced the date on Friday after Kanu failed to open his defence despite being given six days by the court to do so.
The judge ruled that the IPOB leader could not claim to have been denied a fair hearing since he did not take advantage of the opportunity to defend himself within the stipulated period.
However, during Friday’s proceedings, Kanu filed a motion contesting his trial on the basis that terrorism was no longer an offence under Nigerian law.
He argued that the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act under which he was charged had been repealed, rendering the charges against him invalid.
Kanu insisted that there was no case to answer and urged the court to dismiss the charges and set him free.