Human rights activist and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has reacted to his exclusion from the list of approved observers for the trial of detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
In a brief but pointed statement shared on social media, Sowore condemned the ongoing legal proceedings as a “futile exercise” and a “farcical trial deliberately designed to waste everyone’s time.”
He ended his comment with the hashtag #FreeNnamdiKanuNow, reaffirming his support for Nnamdi Kanu whose detention and trial have continued to draw national and international attention.
Earlier reports had revealed that Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court approved a list of 20 individuals to observe the trial of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).
Over 30 people, including human rights activist Omoyele Sowore of Take it Back Movement, had applied to attend the trial as observers. Notably, Sowore is not among the approved observers, according to The Nation.
The court had scheduled the trial to resume on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.
The court required observers to be seated by 9am.
Meanwhile, several Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) had expressed interest in joining Kanu’s defence team, including Chief Kanu Agabi, Uchenna Njoku, Prof. Onyechi Ikpeazu, Emeka Etiaba, Mela, Dr. Joseph Akubo, and Audu Nunghe.
The court had scheduled an accelerated hearing for the seven-count terrorism charge against Kanu.
On Monday, SaharaReporters reported that four Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) had joined the legal team representing Kanu.
The addition of the four SANs — Ikpeazu, Etiaba, Nunghe, and Akubo — increased the number of Senior Advocates on Kanu’s team to six, and brought the total number of lawyers defending him to 19. They join existing SANs Chief Kanu Agabi and Uchenna Njoku.
