The trial of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), resumed on Friday at the Federal High Court in Abuja. A witness for the Nigerian Government, identified as an operative of the Department of State Services (DSS) under the code name PWAAA, testified that no weapons of terrorism or violence were recovered from Kanu during his arrest on 15 October 2015 in Lagos.
The witness further stated that no arms or items related to public disturbance were found on a woman who was arrested alongside Kanu but later released.
The items that were confiscated from Kanu and presented as evidence included a variety of personal belongings, such as: 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.
Additionally, the list of recovered items comprised 2 3G modems, 2 Glo modems, 1 Glo Huawei 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 a mixer, 1 Easy Blaze white modem, 1 Samsung phone, 1 black Motorola phone, and 1 Nokia phone.
Other personal items included 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, and 1 piece of footwear.
The witness also detailed the recovery of 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, and a total of 10 additional items.
Further items listed included 3 bank MasterCards, various documents, 1 copy of an IPOB complementary card, documents labelled IPOB, 1 white clipper, 1 bottle of medicine, 1 Oman perfume, 2 mini scented oils, 1 empty black purse, 1 Nigerian passport bearing the name Okwu Kanu Nwannekaibeya Nnamdi Ngozichukwu, 1 British passport with the name Okwu Kanu Nwannekaibeya, 1 black purse, 1 passport holder, 1 card holder, 1 box of Rocarden wristwatch, and 4 bundles of cords.
During cross-examination by Kanu’s lawyer, Kanu Agabi, SAN, the witness acknowledged that all the items belonged to Kanu and stated that while the recovered items may not be inherently offensive, the defendant’s intentions could suggest otherwise. PWAAA confirmed that he had not analysed any of the items, as his role was solely to effect the arrest and obtain a statement from Kanu.
When questioned, the DSS operative admitted to having analysed Kanu’s cell phone, but indicated that the report of this analysis was not presented to the court as it was deemed immaterial. He conceded that, after a decade, the confiscated items might have lost value and become unusable.
The witness also admitted that he did not confront anyone in Kanu’s presence regarding any terrorism-related issues and acknowledged that Kanu’s statement was obtained without the presence of his lawyer.
