The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has filed a fresh application for the striking out of the terrorism charges pending at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Mr Kanu, in the motion filed on 30 October, also urged the trial judge, James Omotosho, to order his release from custody after striking out the charges.

The application, titled ‘Motion on Notice and Written Address in Support’, re-echoed the points he earlier made during proceedings Monday, when he told the judge that he had no reason to file any defence in his case because there was no valid charge against him.

“There is no charge or counts cognisable within the corpus juris of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the motion read, describing the current charges as “a nullity ab initio for want of any extant legal foundation.”

The filing came ahead of Tuesday (4 November) hearing which may prove decisive for Mr Kanu’s defence in the terrorism trial.

Trial judge, James Omotosho, scheduled the 4 November date for Mr Kanu, who recently opted to defend himself after sacking his defence laweyrs, to come up with his plan after his declaration that the case of the prosecution was not worth defending.

It is not clear yet if the prosecution has been served with the new motion. The judge already indicated at Monday’s hearing that Mr Kanu’s objection to the validity of the charges could serve as his defence.

The prosecution already closed its case with five prosecution witnesses, all State Security Servic