The Federal Government has insisted that the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, must stand trial on the terrorism charges against him.
While rejecting Kanu’s no case application on Friday, counsel to the Federal Government, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), said the prosecutor had established that the Biafra agitator had a case to answer.
Kanu is standing trial on a seven-count terrorism charge brought against him by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation.
Awomolo urged the court to reject Kanu’s application and compel him to open his defence, arguing that the application was both misplaced and misconceived.
Awomolo told the trial judge, Justice James Omotosho, that Kanu had made a broadcast on Radio Biafra in which he openly and publicly declared his intention to break up the country.
He alleged that Kanu also declared his plan to establish a Republic of Biafra.
Awomolo emphasised that Kanu’s declaration was not a mere empty threat, but a deliberate and dangerous one, stating that his broadcast caused widespread fear among Nigerians.
The SAN argued that boasting about breaking up the country constitutes a serious national security concern and should not be dismissed as mere rhetoric, as claimed by Kanu.
Awomolo further alleged that Kanu, in the broadcast, directed his followers to target and kill policemen and their families, noting that more than 170 security personnel were killed shortly afterwards.
“The defendant made a broadcast in which he proudly declared himself as the IPOB leader, even though he knew that the group had been proscribed. He claimed the world would come to a standstill.
“The Nigerian law prohibits inciting statements capable of making citizens live in perpetual fear. The threat to destroy Nigeria was not idle talk—it was aimed at creating Biafra, and there are consequences for such statements.”
However, Kanu, through his lead counsel, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, challenged the validity of the prosecution’s case and asked the court to discharge and acquit him.
Agabi argued that no witness had testified that they were incited to violence by Kanu throughout the proceedings.
He also told the court that the five witnesses of the Department of State Services admitted that their role was limited to obtaining statements from Kanu.
Agabi further contended that no investigation was conducted into the statements allegedly made by Kanu, and no investigative report regarding the terrorism allegations was presented in court.
He noted that the charges against Kanu had been amended eight times, yet no witness came forward to claim they were incited by him.
Insisting that Kanu merely urged people to defend themselves against widespread killings, Agabi argued that Kanu’s threat to “bring the world down” was simply boastful talk and should not be used as evidence of terrorism.
He said that urging Nigerians to defend themselves is a constitutional right that has also been echoed by prominent Nigerians, including retired General T.Y. Danjuma.
Agabi also criticised Kanu’s prolonged solitary confinement over the past 10 years, stating that international law prohibits solitary confinement beyond 15 days.
He concluded by insisting that the elements of the terrorism charges were not proven during the trial, and urged the judge to rule that no prima facie case had been established against Kanu to warrant him entering a defence.
Justice Omotosho, after listening to arguments for and against the no-case submission, adjourned the matter until October 10 for ruling.
(Punch)
