The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday stood down proceedings in the ongoing trial of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to deliver a ruling on the admissibility of evidence sought to be tendered by the Federal Government.
Justice James Omotosho temporarily suspended the trial after the prosecution counsel, Suraj Saida, SAN, and defence counsel, Paul Erokoro, SAN, adopted their written addresses and presented arguments for and against the admissibility of Kanu’s alleged extra-judicial statements.
The development follows the court’s earlier order for a trial-within-a-trial to determine the voluntariness of the statements after Kanu rejected them, claiming they were made under duress.
Kanu alleged that officials of the Department of State Services (DSS), who interrogated him, denied him access to legal counsel, threatened to block his bail, and withheld the daily hour of fresh air permitted due to his health condition. He also claimed that DSS interrogators asked him to make statements implicating former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha—words he said were not his own.
He further told the court that he was held in an underground cell, placed in solitary confinement, and that the video recordings presented by the prosecution were edited.
In response, a DSS operative who testified as the Federal Government’s witness denied all allegations of coercion or mistreatment. The operative told the court that Kanu was treated fairly and even offered bottled water during interrogation sessions. He also refuted the claim that Kanu was compelled to make statements about any political figures, stating that Kanu spoke voluntarily.
Justice Omotosho said the trial-within-a-trial was necessary to establish whether the statements were made voluntarily before ruling on their admissibility. The matter was stood down for the court to deliver its ruling.
