Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the transfer of the trial of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, to the headquarters of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja.
Earlier, a witness of the Federal government, has informed the court that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu smuggled in radio transmitter, hidden inside some home appliances.
The witness tagged as DDDD, who is a DSS officer, said to have spent 25yrs in service, is the fourth witness of the Federal government, noted that he also served in the southeast Nigeria from 2019-2022.
The witness said he met Kanu upon his arrest in 2015 saying he was part of the team that raided the compound of one Mr. Benjamin Madugugu, following an intelligence report. The witness said they saw a video of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, inspecting a 20ft container, which contains home appliances like mattress, washing machine, gas cooker, and a radio transmitter that was not declared to the customs service.
The witness said that following the information in the said video, he got an official order to retrieve the transmitter, with a search warrant dated 28 October 2015, which he tendered as evidence before the court.
He tendered into evidence a CD which contains a video recording. The CD was admitted into evidence and was then played in the open court. Some audio recordings from 2021 were also tendered into evidence and same was admitted, and was also played in the open court.
The transmitter was reportedly deployed for broadcasts on Radio Biafra — a platform central to the IPOB agitation.
Kanu is standing trial on terrorism-related charges preferred against him by the Federal Government. He has been in the custody of the DSS since his controversial re-arrest and extradition from Kenya in 2021.
Justice Omotosho held that relocating the trial to the DSS facility was necessary to enable an on-site assessment of the shipping container said to form part of the evidence against the defendant.
