The trial of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), resumed on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Justice James Omotosho, presiding over the case, granted the Federal Government’s request for witnesses to testify behind screens for security reasons.
During the hearing, Kanu’s defense counsel, led by Kanu Agabi, informed the court that his legal team consisted of 22 members. However, Justice Omotosho limited the number of defense lawyers to 13, as previously listed.
The defense team now includes four senior advocates: Audu Nunghe, Joseph Akubo, Emeka Etiaba, and Onyechi Ikpeazu.
Adegboyega Awolowo, representing the Federal Government, explained that the ex parte application for witnesses to testify behind screens had been filed due to the sensitive nature of the case and concerns for security.
The first witness, identified as “AAA,” an 18-year veteran of the Department of State Services (DSS), testified behind a screen. He recounted his involvement in Kanu’s arrest on October 14, 2015, at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Lagos.
According to AAA, he was part of the team assigned to arrest Kanu. Upon arriving at the hotel, the receptionist initially denied Kanu was a guest. After consulting the hotel’s guest manifest, the DSS obtained authorization from their director to conduct a room-by-room search. Kanu was found in Room 303 with a woman named Maria Ibezimakor.
AAA stated that Kanu initially resisted arrest, physically assaulting a DSS officer named Bolaji. The room where Kanu was found was equipped with broadcasting equipment, resembling a broadcasting studio. The DSS team arrested Kanu at around 11 p.m., seized the equipment, and transported it to the DSS office in Lagos, where Kanu acknowledged that the items belonged to him.
AAA confirmed the inventory list of seized items, which was presented as evidence and admitted into the court record.
Details later…
