The Department of State Services (DSS) said it arrested the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, in a hotel in Lagos after he secretly entered the country in 2015.
The first prosecution witness in Kanu’s terrorism trial, whose identity was shielded for security reasons, testified behind a screen while being led in evidence by the prosecuting lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN).
Identified as PWAAA, the witness, a DSS operative, said his agency, acting on intelligence, deployed an eight-man team of operatives to a hotel in Ikeja on 15 October 2015, where Kanu was arrested during a room-to-room search.
The witness said the operatives opted for a room-to-room search because Kanu’s name was not on the hotel’s record.
Items recovered from him include IPOB pamphlets, IPOB complementary cards, laptops, IPADs, microphones, microphone stands, flash drives, power adaptors for mixers, various brands of phones, perfumes, ATM cards, and a wristwatch, among others.
The items, brought to court in four suites, were displayed and admitted as exhibits by Justice James Omotosho.
The witness told the court that the interrogation of Kanu was recorded and that he admitted to being the founder and leader of IPOB.
He added that the defendant admitted to establishing and operating Radio Biafra and that he did not register it with the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).
The video of Kanu’s interrogation was played in court while the statement he made on 15 October 2015, was read out.
In the video, Kanu admitted setting up Radio Biafra in London and not registering it with the NBC ‘because there was no need for it’.
He stated he was fighting for the emancipation of the people of Southeast, Southsouth and parts of Benue and Kogi.
Kanu claimed that freedom fighting was not a crime anywhere, including in Nigeria, but a fundamental right.
The IPOB leader also claimed not to be involved in violence.
Before proceedings began, the court granted a request by the Federal Government for prosecution witnesses to testify behind a screen and with their faces masked.
Awomolo told the court that the measure was necessary to safeguard the identities of the operatives.
‘Given the sensitive nature of their roles and the security risks involved, it is imperative that these witnesses be allowed to testify anonymously’, he said.
Lead counsel to the defence, Kanu Agabi (SAN), did not oppose the motion.
Justice Omotosho agreed with the prosecution and granted the application as prayed.
The judge also pruned the number of persons who applied to observe the trial to 20, mostly family members.
Over 30 persons applied to be in court as observers, among them, the convener of ‘Take it Back Movement’, Omoyele Sowore, who was denied.
Justice Omotosho adjourned till Friday for the cross-examination of the witness.
