KANU ADVOCATED FOR BIAFRA ESTABLISHMENT BY ANY MEANS, INCLUDING WAR

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By Oduola F.A.

The second prosecution witness, identified by the code name BBB, resumed his testimony on Thursday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, stating that Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, pushed for the creation of Biafra by any means necessary — including through armed conflict.

BBB made the claim while responding to questions about his findings on Kanu, during a session led by the lead prosecution counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN).

Kanu is facing trial on charges of alleged treason and terrorism brought against him by the Federal Government.

PW-BBB, an operative of the Department of State Services, said during his examination on Thursday that he had participated in numerous investigations concerning Kanu.

According to the witness, investigations revealed that IPOB and the Eastern Security Network were established by Kanu, who serves as their founder.

The ESN, BBB alleged, is the armed wing of IPOB. He also testified that Kanu used the platform of Radio Biafra, which he founded, to make alleged inflammatory statements against the police.

Radio Biafra, the witness claimed, was not licensed in Nigeria, and Kanu purportedly instructed his followers to engage in acts of violence, including killing people.

The witness added that Kanu admitted during questioning that the alleged broadcasts inciting violence were his.

“The broadcasts were many, and he confirmed that they were his,” the witness said.

BBB further alleged that a Lagos High Court was burnt, and buses belonging to the Lagos State Government were also set on fire following Kanu’s orders.

Kanu called for the killing and beheading of police and army personnel. A police officer was allegedly killed and beheaded as a result.

Security agencies established that Kanu issued sit-at-home orders and directed his followers to enforce them, leading to attacks on police stations and officers in Ebonyi and Imo States.

The agitation for the Biafra Republic, led by Kanu, aimed to achieve secession from Nigeria for the South-East, South-South, and parts of Benue and Kogi States.

BBB alleged that Kanu’s broadcasts incited violence, including the killing of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s aide, Ahmed Gulak, on May 30, 2022, among others.

The witness said in Kanu’s broadcast, he had ordered followers to “deal with” anyone violating his sit-at-home directive.

According to BBB, eyewitnesses said they heard the killers blaming Gulak for coming out on that day against their leader’s directives.

Speaking further he said Kanu’s broadcast was also to blame for the death of an army couple, Gloria Mathew and Linus Musa, who were killed and beheaded as well as the death of a retired justice.

The prosecution also presented alleged video evidence linking Kanu to violent acts, including the burning of police stations and the beheading of officers in Lagos.

Kanu, in the recording, described IPOB as a separatist movement aimed at achieving the aspirations of the South- East people through a referendum.

He stated that the ESN was created to address insecurity in the region, likening it to Amotekun in the South-West.

Kanu denied IPOB’s involvement in acts of violence, claiming the group was peaceful. He argued that accusations of violence were attempts to tarnish IPOB’s image.

While he agreed to giving the sit-at-home orders, Kanu said he didn’t force anyone.

While he was asked about what he said about defaulters of the sit-at-home orders in his broadcast he responded by saying, “For example, it’s like when your child offends you at home and you say to the child ‘I will kill you today’ does that mean you will kill the child?”

On whether he thinks it was upon acting on his orders that some people carry out acts of violence and killings, Kanu said his words do not take away the will and choice of people to act the way they do.

He said he was in court in 2017 and was granted bail. Until the army invaded his home and tried to kill him and ended up killing 28 people.

He said he couldn’t understand what necessitated that invasion, because at the time he was already in discussions with the governments in the South-East.

He said, “Whoever asked the army to attack my house is the real enemy because I was already in discussions with eminent people in the South-East including Professor Ban Nwabueze trying to get a political solution to this matter”.

On what necessitated the establishment of ESN when there were already existing vigilante groups in the South-East, Kanu said while he could not speak for the other vigilante groups, he noted that IPOB could not sit back and watch the killings by herdsmen going on at Nimbo, Uzo Uwani and other communities in the southeast.

The defence counsel, Paul Erokoro (SAN), objected to the admissibility of the video evidence and requested more time for consultation.

Justice James Omotosho adjourned the case to May 14, 21, and 22 for further hearings.