A Department of State Services (DSS) operative, identified as PW-BBB, on Thursday testified before the Federal High Court in Abuja, alleging that a broadcast by the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, directly led to the murder of former presidential aide Ahmed Gulak.
The witness claimed that Gulak, who served under former President Goodluck Jonathan, was killed in Imo State on May 30, 2021, after Kanu allegedly ordered his followers to deal with anyone violating his sit-at-home directive.
Testifying from behind a protective screen, the DSS operative insisted that Kanu’s broadcasts incited violence and widespread killings in the South East, pointing to incidents like the burning of a Lagos High Court and the destruction of Lagos State government buses.
“We established that his orders were carried out… He did not only call for the killing of police and army, but also that they should be beheaded. And a police officer was killed and beheaded,” the witness said.
The operative further testified that Kanu admitted, in a recorded interview with the DSS, to being the founder of IPOB, its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), and the unlicensed Radio Biafra, which he said had been used to spread inflammatory messages.
However, when a video of Kanu was played in open court, the IPOB leader denied inciting violence, asserting that his agitation for Biafra’s independence has always been non-violent.
“I was in court and I was granted bail. I was in my house and the Nigerian Army came to kill me. I was at a loss… They ended up killing 28 people,” Kanu said, rejecting claims that his broadcasts triggered violence during the EndSARS protests in Lagos.
Kanu’s defence team, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Paul Erokoro, challenged the admissibility of the video, prompting Justice Omotosho to adjourn further hearings to May 14, 21, and 22.
