The Indigenous People of Biafra has raised serious concerns over what it describes as a deliberate attempt by the Federal Government to undermine the trial of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, through the use of a “planted mercenary” masked as a prosecution witness.
The group alleged that the individual, identified only as Prosecution Witness BBB (PW-BBB), lacks any verifiable affiliation with the Department of State Services and is allegedly being trained to pose as an informed authority within the agency.
In a press release issued by IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, the group decried the development as a clear abuse of judicial procedure and an affront to the integrity of the courtroom.
According to the statement, PW-BBB’s name was never included in the official list of prosecution witnesses submitted to the defense team, describing his sudden inclusion as “trial by ambush” and an act of prosecutorial misconduct.
“IPOB strongly condemns the Nigerian government’s continued abuse of legal process and deployment of deception in the ongoing trial of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,” the group declared.
“The latest disgraceful development is the presentation of an individual referred to as Prosecution Witness BBB (PW-BBB), a man who does not work for the Department of State Services (DSS) and who has been exposed under cross-examination as a government-planted mercenary.”
IPOB called on the presiding judge, Justice James Omotosho, to take note of what it termed a misuse of legal channels and to protect the courtroom’s integrity from such manipulation.
The organization also accused the Federal Government of distorting legal norms to perpetuate what it called the unlawful detention of Kanu, whose condition in DSS custody, particularly his solitary confinement, has been confirmed by both independent observers and UK Consular officials.
“This individual is receiving strategic coaching to impersonate an informed insider when in reality, he has no legitimate connection to DSS operations or the detention regime under which Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has been unjustly held.
“His courtroom performance, peppered with statements like ‘I don’t know,’ ‘It’s not my job,’ ‘No one informed me’, reveals a witness wholly ignorant of the facts and unqualified to provide any reliable testimony,” the statement emphasised.
Vowing to unmask the identity and intentions behind PW-BBB’s involvement, IPOB urged the international community to hold the Nigerian authorities to account and pressed for the immediate and unconditional release of its leader.
“The attempt to lend credibility to the lies of a coached stranger is not only a disservice to justice, but also a profound insult to the Nigerian judiciary.
“IPOB calls on media houses to resist becoming echo chambers for state propaganda. Upholding truth, objectivity, and constitutional principles is more urgent now than ever,” the statement added.
