There is a heavy security presence at the Federal High Court in Abuja ahead of the trial of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
The trial judge, Justice Binta Nyako, would hear the application challenging the jurisdiction of the court and the competency of the charge against him during the hearing on Wednesday.
However, security operatives have prevented Maxwell Opara, one of the lawyers of Nnamdi Kanu from entering the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Also barred from the courtroom include journalists, Igbo traditional leaders, as well as observers and activists.
But other lawyers of Kanu including Ifeanyi Ejiofor and Aloy Ejimakor were allowed inside the courtroom.
Kanu is facing terrorism-related charges and has since been detained in the custody of the Department of State Services since his re-arrest from a foreign country in June 2021.
He had pleaded not guilty to seven charges at his last appearance in court on October 21.