Amid fresh court filings in the trial of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has clarified that he has no role in the case unless formally invited by the court to testify.
Speaking during a media parley in Abuja on Friday, Wike dismissed reports listing him as one of Kanu’s witnesses, saying he has not received any official summons or subpoena from the court.
“You don’t become a witness by reading the newspaper. Nobody has served me any process; nobody has subpoenaed me,” he said. “So, because I saw Wike listed, I will now begin to run helter-skelter? No, you don’t do that. If I am served, if I am subpoenaed to come and give a witness or give evidence, I must obey the court; I must appear”.
Wike said this while reacting to a motion filed by Kanu on October 21, 2025, which listed 23 witnesses to testify in his ongoing trial before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The witnesses include international experts, military officers, governors, and political figures. They are divided into voluntary witnesses and vital compellable witnesses to be subpoenaed under Section 232 of the Evidence Act, 2011.
Among those listed are former Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd), Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma. Others include the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, former Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu; and Wike himself.
When asked why he believed Kanu included him on the list, Wike said, “If you see Nnamdi Kanu, you ask him, ‘Why did you list me?’ I did not go and say I want to be a witness. So, if you see him, ask him, ‘Why did you list Wike as one of your witnesses?’”
Kanu’s filing also includes experts such as U.S.-based lawyer Bruce Fein, who will testify on the legality of Kanu’s extraordinary rendition from Kenya, and his personal physician, Martin Aghaji, who will speak on the impact of prolonged detention on Kanu’s health.
Kanu, who has been in detention since his extradition from Kenya in June 2021, is facing charges related to terrorism and incitement. The court had directed him to open his defence on October 24, prompting the new witness list submission.
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