Defence lawyer denies blockage to Nnamdi Kanu in SSS custody, grills prosecution witness

Defence lawyer Kanu Agabi denied on Wednesday that the State Security Service (SSS) blocked him from meeting with the detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu, who faces terrorism charges for his pro-Biafra secessionist campaigns.

Mr Agabi, a former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), issued the denial at the Federal High Court in Abuja during a hearing of the charges against Mr Kanu. The proceedings included a session where the second prosecution witness, an SSS agent, faced a barrage of questions from the defence on the investigations informing Mr Kanu’s prosecution.

The lawyer’s comment followed trial judge James Omotosho’s enquiry about the genuineness of a media report suggesting that the SSS denied him access to Mr Kanu in custody. The judge noted that such a development touched on Mr Kanu’s right to adequate facilities and time to defend himself.

Responding, Mr Agabi expressed surprise about the report, saying the information was untrue.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that Mr Ababi confirmed that, contrary to the report, SSS officials accorded him with respect.

“No, I was not denied access to the defendant,” Mr Agabi said.

The IPOB leader, a dual citizen of Nigeria and the United Kingdom, has been held in the custody of the SSS in Abuja after his re-arrest in Kenya and forcible return to Nigeria in June 2021.

He faces charges of terrorism and treasonable felony, which stemmed from his and IPOB’s agitation for the secession of Nigeria’s five South-east states and sections of some neighbouring states as a sovereign Biafra republic.

The prosecution accused him of inciting and orchestrating deadly terrorist attacks in the region through radio broadcasts and social media feeds in the South-east region to actualise his secessionist goal.

PREMIUM TIMES reported earlier on Wednesday how a prosecution witness tendered in evidence a document on the killing of Ahmed Gulak, a former presidential adviser, in May 2021, at the height of IPOB’s enforcement of Mr Kanu’s stay-at-home order in the region.

Since his re-arrest in June 2021 to continue his case that was earlier disrupted by his escape abroad in 2017, Mr Kanu has fumed in court over a torrent of difficulties in custody.

He whined over issues, including undue restrictions on meetings with his lawyers and visits by family members, psychological torture that he claimed undermined his defence and strictures on the clothes he could wear.

Different judges have ruled on some of these issues, which they held were either unproven or insufficient reasons to stop his trial, transfer his detention to the correctional centres or grant him bail.

My experience while trying to visit Kanu – Agabi

Explaining the circumstances leading to the recent misleading report of denying access to the IPOB leader in the SSS custody, Mr Agabi said he was misled to arrive at the facility ahead of the scheduled time.

“We had arranged to go there with Ikpeazu, Etiaba, and Erokoro. But for some reason, they were not available.

“When I got to the gate around 1 p.m., they said our names had not arrived.

“In fairness to them (SSS), they showed me enough respect.

“I said I would come back another date, but a member of my team wrote on the internet that I was denied access,” he said.

How Agabi was misled

The judge, Mr Omotosho, directed Aloy Ejimakor, a member of the defence team, identified as the person who posted the misleading information online, to speak on the matter.

Responding, Mr Ejimakor said he thought Mr Agabi was upset that he was denied access to Mr Kanu when they spoke on the phone, a claim the ex-AGF countered, explaining that he got angry because Mr Ejimakor gave him the wrong time for the appointment.

“When I got to the gate, our names were not there. I called him (Ejimakor) twice, and he didn’t pick up.

“And because I have scheduled another meeting with the Gold Club, I left.

“Later, he (Ejimakor) called me to come back, and that was why I was angry,” he said.

Mr Ejimakor, however, admitted that though the SSS gave them 2 p.m. for the visitation, he gave the defence team 1 p.m. to ensure the early arrival of every member of the team expected at the meeting.

He said the officers were very remorseful when he got to the gate, feeling sorry that Mr Agabi was prevented from entering.

He said the officers promised to give them a consolatory opportunity to visit the defendant.

Caution

The judge cautioned Mr Ejimakor against rushing to the internet without confirming the veracity of information.

“I want to caution you on what you put on the public domain,” he said, prompting the lawyer to apologise to the court.

Prosecution lawyer Adegboyega Awomolo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said not every issue discussed should be shared on the internet.

“Let us be careful how we use social media,” Mr Awomolo said.

“I brought this issue because I thought the counsel was being denied access to the defendant.

“The issue of social media, I will take it as a word of advice from our elder, Chief Awomolo,” the judge said.

Second prosecution witness testifies

Earlier in the proceedings, Mr Awomolo tendered through the second prosecution witness a document described as the death certificate of a former Senior Special Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan on Political Affairs, Ahmed Gulak.

The court admitted the document in evidence without any objection from the defence.

The witness read the document, dated 18 July 2021, with hospital number 013/931, on request from Mr Awomolo.

From the report, the witness said Mr Gulak was shot dead on 30 May 2021 by some hoodlums believed to be members of IPOB.

Under cross-examination by Mr Agabi, the witness confirmed that he participated in Mr Kanu’s interrogation on 17 July 2021. He said the video recording capturing the session, which was earlier tendered in evidence, was a true reflection of what transpired during the encounter.

He rejected Mr Agabi’s suggestion that the video did not fully reflect what happened because it only showed the defendant and his two lawyers.

The witness also rejected Mr Agabi’s suggestion that Mr Kanu was kept in solitary confinement, claiming that the SSS never kept people in solitary confinement.

He agreed with Mr Agabi that solitary confinement of a person for a long time was cruel.

He, however, insisted that it was not part of his organisation’s practice to subject detainees to such treatment.

The witness rejected Mr Agabi’s claim that Mr Kanu’s prolonged detention had caused him psychological damage, saying he was not familiar with the defendant’s history of prolonged detention.

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He admitted that the defendant had been in detention since he interrogated him in 2021.

As against Mr Agabi’s claim that Mr Kanu had become angry, frustrated, unhappy, and almost mad because of his prolonged detention, the witness said the defendant did not exhibit such traits when he appeared before them on 17 July 2021.

He also denied knowing why the prosecution often amended the charge against Mr Kanu.

The witness said he did not confront the defendant physically with the then Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, who wrote a letter demanding Mr Kanu’s investigation for alleged terrorism activities.

He said, “We confronted him (the defendant) with the letter of the AGF, raising allegations against the defendant.

“We did not confront the defendant with the AGF and other persons who made allegations against him.”

The witness rejected Mr Agabi’s suggestion that the then-AGF foisted a conclusion on the SSS in his letter, which, the lawyer said, informed why the SSS did not conduct further investigation.

The witness said he was aware that the governors of the South-west states came together to form Amotekun for the security of their region. He said Amotekun was formed as a vigilante group by governors of the South-west states.

The witness could not confirm whether the AGF wrote to the SSS to investigate the formation of Amotekun, as he was not in a position to see all the letters sent to the SSS.

Mr Agabi then sought an adjournment to retrieve some documents from the police, which he said would aid the defendant’s preparation for his defence.

Mr Awomolo opposed the defence’s request for adjournment, arguing that it was unmerited and a way to delay the trial.

The judge granted the adjournment.

He said Mr Kanu was entitled to sufficient time and facilities to prepare for his defence.

The judge, however, advised the defence to make good use of the time accorded it and avoid undue delay.

The judge then adjourned the matter until 21 and 22 May to continue the trial.

(NAN)