On Friday, the Federal High Court in Abuja reopened the trial of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the jailed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, or IPOB, as the Department of State Services, or DSS, provided additional details behind his 2015 arrest.
Through one of its agents who testified in court, the security service informed the judge that no terrorist weapon was discovered on Kanu when he was taken into custody in a room at the Golden Tulip Hotel at Lagos International Airport on October 14, 2015.
The witness, whose identity was withheld for security reasons, informed the court that the woman who was discovered with the IPOB leader in the hotel room also did not have a firearm.
The witness, who testified under the codename PWAAA, acknowledged that the majority of the objects recovered from the hotel room were Kanu’s personal things, including radio broadcasting tools.
Even while the recovered goods might not normally be hazardous, the officer who testified while wearing a protective shield insisted that the defendant’s intended use of them could cause issues.
The witness, who was being cross-examined by Kanu’s legal team, which was headed by Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, enumerated the things that were taken from Kanu, including: 1 Black laptop, 2 Multi mix transmitters, 1 Mini white Apple iPad with pouch, 1 Grey Apple iPad with pouch, 1 Grey MacBook with pouch, 1 Grey MacBook with case, 1 Mini drone sound wave speaker, 2 Mini white speakers, 1 Large computer mouse, 1 White adaptor, 1 Laptop adaptor and 1 Carton bag with a laptop.
Others are; Two 3G modems, 2 Glo modems, 1 Glo Hawaii modem, 1 MTN modem, 1 Etisalat modem, 1 Flash drive, 1 Camcorder, 1 Hand recorder in a black pouch, 1 MacBook Pro adaptor, 1 Mic stand, 1 Phillips headphone, 1 Radio Sharp mic with cord, 1 Pro sound mic with cord, 1 4G LTE modem, a bunch of cards, 1 Power adaptor for mixer.
1 Easy Blaze white modem, 1 Samsung phone,1 Black Motorola phone and 1 Nokia phone.
As well as; 1 Black Samsung phone, 1 Black phone, 1 D-Link black modem,
1 8GB flash drive, 1 Extension wire adaptor, 1 Pair of shoes, 1 Belt, 1 Pair of ciderwood sneakers and1 Footwear, 1 Black Softech wristwatch, 2 Singlets, 1 Sealed Hermes perfume, 1 Trinket, 1 Pokham perfume, 1 Fredrick Peckham wristwatch, 1 Diesel wristwatch, 1 Alexander Christy collection wristwatch, 1 Club wristwatch and10 items altogether.
The last set of items he listed were; 3 Bank MasterCards, Copies of documents, 1 Copy of IPOB complementary card, Documents tagged IPOB, 1 White clipper, 1 Bottle of medicine, 1 Oman perfume, 2 Mini scented oils, 1 Empty black purse, 1 Nigerian passport bearing the names Okwu Kanu Nwannekaibeya Nnamdi Ngozichukwu and 1 British passport bearing the name Okwu Kanu Nwannekaibeya, 1 Black purse, 1 Passport holder, 1 Card holder, 1 Box of Rocarden wristwatch and 4 Bundles of cords.
Furthermore, the witness acknowledged that none of Kanu’s solicitors were there to see the proceedings when his statement was taken.
The witness responded negatively when asked if he knew of anyone else being tried for Biafra agitation, stating that he was unaware of anyone going through a trial similar to Kanu’s.
Nonetheless, he informed the judge that he was aware that Simon Ekpa had been detained and would shortly be returned to Nigeria to stand trial for aiding Kanu’s movement.
In addition, he told the court that he could not recall any instance in which Kanu apologised for insulting the president and igbo leaders or complained about high levels of corruption or youth unemployment.
The agent also informed the court that he could not recall any instance in which Kanu referred to IPOB as a voluntary, non-violent group.
