A federal high court in Abuja has rejected the evidence
sought to be tendered by the federal government in the ongoing trial of Nnamdi
Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The federal government, through its third witness, an
officer of the Department of State Services (DSS), has sought to tender video
and documentary evidence which are the alleged confessional statements made by
the defendant.
However, Kanu, through his counsel, Paul Erokoro, had
objected to the admissibility of the evidence on the grounds that the
statements were made under duress.
The court on Wednesday had ordered a trial-within-a-trial to
ascertain the voluntariness or involuntariness of the statements.
In his ruling on the trial-within-a-trial on Thursday, James
Omotosho, the presiding judge, stated that while Kanu failed to prove his
statements were made involuntarily and the video evidence showed no signs of
coercion, the court could not overlook his repeated complaints about being
interrogated without legal representation.
The judge held that the supreme court had ruled that in
extracting an extrajudicial statement from a suspect, the presence of his
lawyer is mandatory.
He said security agencies must comply with the relevant laws
which mandate the presence of a defendant’s lawyer, stressing that it is “tied
to the fundamental right” of every Nigerian.
“The statements are inadmissible in light of this omission
by the prosecution,” Omotosho held.
“The objection of the defendant’s counsel is upheld. The
statements of October 23, 2015, and November 2015, earlier admitted in
evidence, are rejected.”
FG TENDERS FRESH EVIDENCE
After the ruling, the prosecution witness (PW-3) was called
to continue with his evidence-in-chief.
The witness, CCC, while being led in evidence by prosecuting
lawyer Suraj Saida, identified a disc titled “Interview with Sahara TV”.
The video, stored on a compact disc, was admitted by the
court in evidence and later played.
In the video, Kanu was heard calling Nigeria a “zoo”, making
allegations against some prominent Igbo figures and threatening to deal with
them.
Kanu accused Ike Nwachukwu, former minister of foreign
affairs, of killing Igbos.
He accused Jim Nwobodo, former Anambra governor, of
betraying Alex Ekweme, a fellow Igbo man.
He equally accused Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the
Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, of killing some Igbos and having their
corpses dumped in a river.
The IPOB leader also accused Rochas Okorocha, former
governor of Imo state, of single-handedly Islamising the state.
Also in the video, Kanu was heard threatening violence if
his Biafra objective was not achieved.
He said if Biafra was not granted, what happened in Somalia
would be like a child’s play compared to what would befall Nigeria, which he
referred to as a zoo.
“If they do not give us Biafra, there will be nothing living
in the zoo; nothing will survive there,” he said in the video.
“I do not see Biafra happening peacefully. There is no
freedom out of a peaceful process.”
Kanu said he welcomed the attack on Enugu state’s government
house, adding that he would support anything that could overthrow the existing
corrupt establishment.
While being cross-examined by Erokoro, the witness said he
did not investigate the veracity of the allegations made by Kanu against the
named prominent Igbo indigenes.
He said his assignment was only to ascertain from Kanu if he
actually granted the interview, which he said the defendant confirmed.
He also denied knowing if Kanu backtracked from his
statements in subsequent videos he made.
The judge then adjourned the matter until June 13, 16, 17,
18, and 19 for the continuation of the trial.
KANU’S SISTER-IN-LAW BARRED FROM TRIAL
The judge also issued an order barring Favour Kanu, the
defendant’s sister-in-law, from attending all future proceedings.
The judge called out Favour and demanded to know whether she
was the one responsible for the unlawful live coverage of the court and
streaming the proceedings on social media, to which she admitted
responsibility.
Having been warned three times to desist from the act,
Omotosho ordered her out of the court, adding that she must not be seen within
the court premises unless she has a case in court.
Omotosho warned that henceforth, he would be sending people
to Kuje prison for contempt of court.
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