The terrorism trial of detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu took a dramatic turn on Wednesday as a masked Department of State Services operative testified that the separatist leader’s radio broadcasts directly led to the killing of up to 200 security personnel across Nigeria’s South-East region.
The DSS operative, identified as PW-DDD and testifying as the fourth prosecution witness, appeared behind a protective screen at the Federal High Court in Abuja. Led in evidence by prosecution counsel Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), the witness detailed how Kanu allegedly used Radio Biafra to incite violence against targeted individuals.
“Kanu had in his illegal radio broadcasts directed his followers to deal decisively with some targeted persons including security agents,” the witness told the court, stating that these incitements resulted in the deaths of between 170 and 200 security operatives in the South-East.
The prosecution also linked Kanu to the May 30, 2021 assassination of Ahmed Gulak, former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, in Owerri, Imo State. The DSS operative, who served in Imo State between 2019 and 2023, revealed that his car was used to evacuate Gulak’s corpse following the killing.
According to the witness’s testimony, Gulak was traveling in a hired cab to the airport when they encountered an IPOB checkpoint. The operative recounted how the cab driver told him that IPOB members ordered all occupants to disembark and questioned them about their tribal origins.
“Both the driver and Gulak introduced themselves as Igbo men. However, upon a command by the IPOB members, while the driver spoke the Igbo language, Gulak was not able to speak,” the witness testified. He described how the gunmen then instructed Gulak to remove his cap, revealing a Muslim prayer mark on his forehead.
“Immediately the IPOB members saw the prayer mark, one of them shouted: ‘he is one of them!’ and shot him dead,” the operative told the court.
The witness said the assassination occurred during a breakdown of law and order following a stay-at-home order declared by Kanu in one of his broadcasts.
The court also heard allegations that Kanu smuggled radio transmission equipment into Nigeria, installing it on property belonging to Benjamin Madubugu in Ubuluisiuzor, Anambra State. A certified Nigerian Broadcasting Commission report assessing the transmitter was submitted as evidence.
In perhaps the most shocking testimony, the DSS operative cited confessions from Uzuoma Benjamin, also known as Onye Army, described as a commander of the Eastern Security Network (ESN), allegedly IPOB’s armed wing. Reading from Vanguard publications, the witness claimed that “Kanu gave a directive that the late ESN commander, Ikonso, be buried with 2,000 human heads.”
The operative further alleged that Onye Army confessed to using the heads of 10 girls to prepare protective charms, and described a DSS raid on an ESN hideout that reportedly uncovered seven members with human heads, some of whom were allegedly consuming human flesh for spiritual fortification.
The witness characterized ESN members as combatants who routinely attack traditional rulers and prominent individuals in the region.
Following the completion of the testimony, Justice James Omotosho adjourned the proceedings until Thursday for continuation of the trial.
Kanu faces a seven-count charge of terrorism and treasonable felony brought by the Federal Government, with the case highlighting the ongoing tensions surrounding the separatist movement in Nigeria’s South-East region.
