The trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, resumed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday, with a key witness from the Department of State Services (DSS) stating under cross-examination that no instruments of terrorism were discovered on Kanu during his arrest.
The witness, identified only as AAA (PW1) for security reasons as granted by the court, confirmed being one of five officers involved in interviewing Kanu, as seen in a video played in court.
However, he clarified that his direct involvement in the investigation was limited to the arrest, obtaining Kanu’s statement, and his transfer to Abuja for further investigation.
During questioning by Kanu’s defence team, led by Kanu Agabi (SAN), AAA stated that none of the items presented in court appeared offensive on the face of it.
He also admitted to only analysing Kanu’s phone, which was submitted as evidence, though its analysis was deemed “immaterial” to the case and not presented as evidence.
When asked about the usability of the confiscated items after 10 years, AAA agreed that many would have become obsolete.
He also confirmed the existence of a record for items purportedly returned to Kanu by the DSS, although he did not personally maintain these records.
Crucially, AAA disclosed that no instruments of violence were found on the woman who was with Kanu at the time of his arrest, and he did not consider her presence as aiding terrorism.
In response to a direct question from Agabi, the DSS operative explicitly stated, “No,” when asked if he found “any instrument of terrorism on the defendant.”
AAA also stated that Kanu did not mention any names of individuals working with him, and he was unaware if others were currently facing terrorism trials alongside Kanu in this specific case.
Agabi asserted that Kanu is the only individual in Nigeria currently on trial for terrorism related to Biafra agitation, a claim AAA could not definitively confirm or deny, though he acknowledged that others had been initially charged with Kanu.
The witness mentioned awareness from social media and newspapers of IPOB supporters like Simon Ekpa, who continues the agitation, and noted that the DSS was reportedly in the process of extraditing Ekpa to Nigeria.
Regarding property damage charges, AAA stated that Kanu was “maybe not personally and virtually” charged with such.
He acknowledged social media messages where Kanu allegedly incited violence, but could not identify any specific individual who committed an act of violence based on that incitement.
AAA recalled Kanu referring to Nigeria as a “zoo” but could not specifically remember if Kanu had mentioned issues like corruption, youth unemployment, and lack of development.
He did, however, remember Kanu stating that IPOB was not an armed group and did not provide armed training to its members, confirming Kanu’s assertion that IPOB does not bear arms.
The defence counsel drew a distinction between killings in various parts of Nigeria not linked to separatist agitations and the charges against Kanu, to which AAA largely agreed.
He also surprisingly stated that Nigeria’s highways are “safe, to a larger extent.”
The terrorism and treasonable felony charges against Kanu date back to 2015 following his arrest in Lagos.
The case has faced significant delays, preventing the prosecution from presenting witnesses and exhibits until recently.
Initially, four others were charged alongside Kanu, but their trials were severed in 2018 after Kanu fled Nigeria. He was subsequently rearrested in Kenya in June 2021.
