The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has been given until July 18 to open his defence in the terrorism-related charges levelled against him by the Federal Government.
Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja fixed the date on Thursday, after the prosecution closed its case having presented five witnesses to support the allegations.
There are, however, strong indications that Kanu may opt for a no-case submission, contending that the evidence presented does not directly link him to the alleged acts of terrorism.
Leading the Federal Government’s legal team, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Adegboyega Awomolo, formally announced the conclusion of the prosecution’s case following the testimony of the fifth witness, identified only as EEE due to security considerations.
The witness, a Department of State Services officer, was discharged after cross-examination by Kanu’s counsel, Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN.
Awomolo expressed confidence in the evidence tendered before the court, including broadcast recordings allegedly linked to Kanu, stating, “I therefore close the case.”
In response, the lead defence counsel, Kanu Agabi, SAN, told the court that they would be filing a no-case submission shortly.
Earlier, during his evidence-in-chief, the fifth prosecution witness said he was tasked with leading a security team to southern Nigeria to collect data related to the 2020–2021 #EndSARS protests.
His duties included obtaining records of public infrastructure damaged during the unrest, as well as retrieving death certificates of fallen security personnel.
The prosecution then tendered three key documents: a comprehensive #EndSARS assessment report, a list of deceased officers, and their death certificates.
Despite the defence’s reservation, which they promised to address later, the court admitted the documents and marked them as exhibits PWD2, PWD2A, and PWD2B.
A summary of the materials revealed that during the protests, 128 policemen, 37 military officers, and 10 DSS operatives were killed.
Additionally, 164 police stations and 19 offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission were destroyed.
During cross-examination, the witness acknowledged that he was not directly involved in investigating Kanu, but claimed the IPOB leader’s broadcasts contributed to the unrest.
When asked whether the destruction in states like Lagos and Osun during #EndSARS was solely due to Kanu’s influence, the witness admitted he could not confirm that but maintained that Kanu had incited attacks on public institutions and security operatives.
Below is an excerpt from the courtroom exchange:
Ikpeazu: So when people destroyed properties in Osun and Lagos during the #EndSARS protest, you are saying that they did that because the defendant asked them to? Are you saying categorically that the #EndSARS issue is a Biafran issue?
EEE: My assignment was not to investigate Biafra, my assignment was to investigate the #EndSARS issue to which the defendant incited the public.
Ikpeazu: Have you heard of Aisha Yesufu, the one that led protests?
EEE: Yes I’ve heard about her.
Ikpeazu: Is she Igbo or from Abia State?
EEE: I have never investigated her so I don’t know.
Ikpeazu: Are you aware that #EndSARS protest was chiefly against police brutality especially with the SARS faction of the police?
EEE: There are usually two causes of an insurrection – the open causes and the underlying causes. Police brutality could be the secondary cause of the protest, the real reasons for the protests was because some subversive elements incited the public against the government. In this case the defendant’s broadcasts was one of those underlying causes.
Ikpeazu: What organization is the defendant allegedly leading?
EEE: IPOB.
