The trial of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, on terrorism charges brought against him by the Federal Government commenced yesterday before a Federal High Court in Abuja, with the first witness testifying behind camera. Trial judge, Justice James Omotosho, granted permission to the government for its witnesses to give evidence behind camera following a request to that effect.
The judge granted the permission while delivering ruling in an ex-parte application filed by the Federal Government’s counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN). Awomolo, while arguing the application, pleaded with Justice Omotosho that the identities of the witnesses be shielded from the public and protected for security reasons.
He informed the court that the charges against Kanu bother on serious offence of terrorism, hence, the need to protect the witnesses.
The senior lawyer requested that the name of the witnesses and their other identities be shielded from the public for the general reasons of security. Due to no objection from Kanu’s counsel, Kanu Agabi (SAN), Justice Omotosho granted the request.
The judge, however, ordered that Nnamdi Kanu must see the faces of those to testify in the trial. Kanu’s counsel, however. requested for similar cooperation from the Federal Government when bail application for Kanu would be argued.
At the opening of the trial, the first witness of the Federal Government, an operative of the Department of State Service (DSS) was code-named, PWAAA by Justice Omotosho in line with the decision of the court not to make names of witnesses public.
In his evidence, the witness gave vivid accounts of his agency, acting on intelligence, deployed an 8-man operative to a hotel in Ikeja, Lagos, on October 15, 2015, where Kanu was arrested during a room-to-room search. He said that the security men opted for room-to-room search because Kanu’s name was not on the hotel manifest, adding that it was upon his arrest that they discovered he used his native name to secure the hotel accommodation.
The witness disclosed that several items, including IPOB pamphlets, IPOB complementary cards, laptops, I-pads, microphones, microphone stand, flash drives, power adaptor for mixers, various brands of phones, perfumes, ATM cards, wrist watch, among others, were recovered in Kanu’s hotel room and recorded.
The items brought to court by DSS in four suites were displayed in the open court and admitted as exhibits, having not been objected to by Kanu’s defence team.
The witness told the court that the interrogation of Kanu was video-recorded, which was played in the open court and admitted as exhibits along with his written statement.
In his written statement read in the open court by the witness, Kanu admitted fighting for emancipation of his people and that the call for self-determination was his fundamental right and not s crime.
