In a dramatic turn of events, the legal team for Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has withdrawn from his case.

The lead counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Kanu Agabi, formally applied to discontinue his representation during a court session on Thursday. Agabi informed the court that his client had chosen to exercise his right to self-representation.

This move led to the withdrawal of all SANs from the defense team, a development confirmed by Kanu himself from the dock.

When pressed by the presiding judge, Kanu stated that he would be handling his own defense for the time being but may engage a lawyer at a later date. He explicitly declined the judge’s offer to have a lawyer assigned to him.

Proceeding to argue his case orally, Kanu’s first line of defense was to challenge the court’s jurisdiction to try him.