The Federal High Court in Abuja has accepted into evidence a radio transmitter allegedly smuggled into the country by Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
During Friday’s court session, an operative from the Department of State Services (DSS)—referred to as DDD for security reasons—testified that Kanu had illicitly brought the transmitter into Nigeria, concealed within a 20-foot container alongside household goods.
Appearing as the fourth prosecution witness, DDD informed the court that the transmitter had been imported without being declared to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
He further stated that the equipment had been hidden at the residence of one Benjamin Madubugwu in Ihiala, Anambra State.
Under examination by the prosecution counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), the witness alleged that Kanu had used the transmitter to incite violence and broadcast secessionist propaganda against the Nigerian state.
The court also admitted a certified copy of the search warrant issued by an Ihiala Chief Magistrate Court on 28 October 2015.
Additionally, a video recording showing Kanu inspecting the transmitter was presented as evidence, despite objections from the defence team, led by Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN).
In the footage, which was played in open court, Kanu was heard praising the device, calling it a “game-changer” and “a nuclear weapon for Biafra.”
The witness further testified that the DSS had established a dedicated desk to monitor and archive all of Kanu’s broadcasts on Radio Biafra.
The prosecution subsequently submitted a flash drive containing 18 video clips and 16 radio broadcasts attributed to Kanu, all of which were admitted into evidence.
In one of the broadcasts, which the IPOB leader made on May 29, 2021, he described south east political leaders as “fools, vagabonds and idiots” and then declared a sit-at-home for May 31, 2021.
Kanu warned that anybody who disobeyed his sit-at-home order and ventured out of his or her house on the said day would die.
“If you come out on the 31st, you are going to die, and if the zoo army tries anything, they will be confronted,” Kanu had said.
“From my investigation, the broadcast directly contributed to economic paralysis in the south-east, as it fuelled the enforcement of IPOB’s sit-at-home order by its militant wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN),” the DSS witness said.
Also, Madubougu’s statement in which he admitted that Kanu did not provide any customs documentation for the imported transmitter was presented to the court.
The court also admitted a newspaper in which an alleged ESN member claimed that Kanu ordered the collection of 2,000 human heads for burial rites, although only 30 were reportedly obtained.
While the defence team objected to the admissibility of the newspaper article, the court admitted it along with a certificate of compliance.
The prosecution further applied for the court to inspect the 20-foot container that housed the transmitter and other related items currently held at the DSS facility. The request was granted without opposition.
James Omotosho, presiding judge, then directed that the transmitter and the container should be inspected in the company of the journalists in court.
After the inspection, the judge admitted the transmitter as ‘exhibit-Y’ and the container as ‘exhibit-Z’ during a brief proceeding conducted within the premises of the DSS office in Abuja.
Omotosho then adjourned the matter until June 18, June 19 and June 20, within which the prosecution is expected to close its case.
Discussion about this post