Federal High Court in Abuja has accepted into evidence a radio transmitter that is claimed to have been smuggled into Nigeria by Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Gatekeepers News reports that during a court session on Friday, a witness from the Department of State Services (DSS), referred to as DDD for security reasons, testified about the alleged smuggling of the transmitter, which was reportedly concealed in a 20-foot shipping container mixed with household items. DDD, serving as the fourth prosecution witness, stated that the transmitter was brought into the country without the required declaration to the Nigeria Customs Service.
According to DDD, the transmitter was hidden at the home of a man named Benjamin Madubougu in Ihiala, Anambra State. The witness, under the examination of prosecution counsel Adegboyega Awomolo, asserted that Kanu utilized this transmitter to promote violence and disseminate secessionist messages targeting the Nigerian state.
Additionally, the court accepted a certified copy of a search warrant that was issued by a chief magistrate court in Ihiala on October 28, 2015. A video recording showing Kanu inspecting the radio transmitter was also presented and admitted into evidence, despite objections from Kanu’s defense team, led by Onyechi Ikpeazu. In the video, Kanu was seen endorsing the transmitter, referring to it as a transformative tool and a “nuclear weapon” for Biafra.
The witness indicated that the DSS has a dedicated desk assigned to monitor and document every broadcast made by Kanu on Radio Biafra. The prosecution also submitted a flash drive containing 18 video clips and 16 radio broadcasts linked to Kanu, which were subsequently accepted as evidence by the court.
In one notable broadcast from May 29, 2021, Kanu disparaged political leaders from the Southeast, labeling them as “fools, vagabonds, and idiots,” and issued a directive for a sit-at-home order to be observed on May 31, 2021. He warned that anyone who disregarded this order and left their home on that day would face fatal consequences.
“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.
