Nnamdi Kanu: Court grants FG’s requests for witnesses to testify behind screens

The trial of the embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has resumed on Tuesday at the Federal High Court, Abuja. The court, led by Justice James Omotosho, granted the request of the Federal Government for witnesses to testify behind screens.

At the resumed hearing, the Defence Counsel, led by Kanu Agabi, told the court that he had 22 members on his team. The judge, however, said he wouldn’t approve more than the 13 he had listed. Four senior advocates have joined the defence team, namely: Audu Nunghe, Joseph Akubo, Emeka Etiaba and Onyechi Ikpeazu.
The counsel to the Federal Government, Adegboyega Awolowo, told the court that they had earlier filed an ex parte application for the witnesses to testify behind screens due to the nature of the case and for security reasons.

The witness named AAA is an officer of the Department of State Services (DSS) who has served for 18 years. Testifying behind a screen, he told the court that on 14th October 2015, he was assigned with some team members to arrest Kanu at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Lagos. Kanu was taken to the DSS command in Lagos, and the items from his room were listed; and the defendant countersigned the list. AAA said he led the team that arrested Kanu at the Golden Tulip Hotel, Lagos International Airport on October 14, 2015.

When they got to the Golden Tulip, the receptionist said Nnamdi Kanu was not a guest there. They showed the DSS their guest manifest for several months, and his name was not there. So the DSS got an order from their director to conduct a room-to-room search of the hotel.