Witness testify against Nnamdi Kanu behind cover as court play CDs of im interrogation by DSS

Di Nigeria goment don call dia first witness for di matter against Nnamdi Kanu, leader of di Indigenous People of Biafra.

Kanu dey face seven-count charges of terrorism and say e belong to a terrorist organisation.

Di matter resume on Tuesday bifor Justice James Omotosho.

Adegboyega Awomolo, wey be di prosecution lawyer tell di court say e bin don file one application on April 10 for di court to allow witnesses for di matter to testify behind a screen and wit mask.

Nnamdi Kanu lawyer, Kanu Agabi no object to di application, but e also ask Awomolo to cooperate wit am wen e go apply for di bail of di defendant.

Justice Omotosho grant di application for di witness to dey masked and to testify behind a screen.

Also, Awomolo ask for TV screen and DVD player for dem to play some CDs wey dem get as evidence. Omotosho grant am.

Di prosecution call dia first witness, Mr AAA (no be im real names) wey dey work wit di Department of State Services (DSS).

E testify behind screen.

We arrest Nnamdi Kanu for hotel wit one woman - DSS

Oga AAA say na im bin lead di DSS team wey bin arrest Nnamdi Kanu for Golden Tulip Hotel, Lagos International Airport for October 14, 2015.

Di workers for di hotel bin no gree say Nnamdi Kanu na guest for dia. Dem show di DSS dia guest manifest of several months and Kanu name no dey dia. So di DSS get order from dia oga to conduct room to room search for di hotel.

Dem later find Nnamdi Kanu for room 303 with one young lady wey her name na Maria Ibezimakor.

Kanu bin initially resist arrest and even wan fight di officers, e headbutt one DSS man wey im name na Bolaji, according to witness AAA.

Di witness also say dat afta dem discover Nnamdi Kanu for room 303, dem check di guest manifest and dem find out say e bin check in wit di name Nwannekaenyi Ezebuiro.

Also dem find out say room 202 of dat same hotel get di same Nwannekaenyi Ezebuiro as di guest for dia, but wen di DSS check di room, dem find "two strange ladies".

E also tok say di room wia dem arrest Kanu bin look like a broadcasting studio bicos plenty broadcasting equipment dey dia ready to use.

Dem arrest Kanu around (23:00hrs) 11pm. Afta dat, dem later pack all di equipment to dia office for Lagos, list dem, and Kanu bin attest say di equipment na im own.

For di court dia, dem show Mr AAA di list of broadcasting equipment wey dem bin seize from Kanu, e identify am and dem tender di list as evidence and dem admit am.

Di witness also say dem interrogate Kanu di next day for dia office, and dem record di interrogation.

Dem show am one CD plate wey e identify as di recording of di interrogation. Dem admit di CD plate as evidence and dem play am inside court.

Inside, Kanu identify imself and answer questions as DSS officer dey ask am.

E say e dey di struggle to make life better for pipo, say pipo go wake in di morning and feel good about dia lives.

E say e set up radio biafra, and say e be communication engineer. E say while e bin dey Nigeria, Radio Biafra London bin dey managed by im colleague, Uche Mefor.

E say Radio Biafra also get officers for US, Russia, Italy, Sweden, etc. Dem no get a single worker as Nigerian, as many pipo wey dey listen to di radio dey also help to spread am.

E say e no get license to operate radio for Nigeria. E saye know say operating a radio station without license na crime, but e know say if e apply, dem no give am.

Also, Mr AAA read out one statement wey Kanu make for DSS office after im arrest, wia e say e set up Radio Biafra because e believe in freedom of speech and say di UN charter on people's right guarantee di right to self determination.

For dat statement, Kanu also note say dem question am without im lawyer or any legal representation, so e answer di questions "in di best way I could".

Di witness also show di court items wey dem bin recover from Kanu Wen dem arrest am. Di items include laptops, iPads, phones, modems, microphones, and oda personal tins like wristwatches, trinkets, perfumes, etc.

Afta witness AAA finish im testimony, di defense counsel Kanu Agabi beg di court for small adjournment until Friday May 2nd 2024 for cross examination. Di prosecution counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo no object, so Justice Omotosho adjourn di hearing to May 2.

Background

Dis na di first time di trial of Nnamdi Kanu dey start wella, almost 10 years since di DSS first arrest.

Di matter bin first dey bifor Justice Binta Nyako who later comot hand afta Kanu accuse am of bias.

Kanu dey face terrorism charges plus oda accuse we di Nigeria goment sama am, sake of say e dey lead di struggle for di southeast region of di kontri to pull out and bicom independent.

Dem bin first arrest am in 2015 but court later grant am bail on health grounds. However, e run comot from di kontri in 2017 afta soldiers bin attack I'm house for Umuahia, Abia State.

Security forces later rearrest Kanu in June 2021 in Kenya, and dem return am to Nigeria to face im trial.

Goment bin bring 15 count charges against Kanu, but Justice Nyako strike eight of di charges comot, remaining seven.

Di Court of Appeal later strike out all di charges but di Supreme Court rule say Kanu get case to ansa for di remaining seven charges, so di case return to di Federal High Court.

Ipob, di group wey Nnamdi Kanu be dia leader, dey organise regular protests and marches for di southeast region and oda kontris around di world to push dia struggle, but di Nigeria goment don mark di group as a terrorist organisation.