Sat, May 31, 2025

…says Kanu being tried for alleged 2018-2021 offences not earlier

THE Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has faulted the presentation of an 11-year video interview of detained leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, as evidence against him in his ongoing treason trial, pointing out that the IPOB leader is being tried for alleged offences committed between 2018 and 2021 and not earlier.

“We must make this crystal clear: none of the charges against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu relates to the year 2014. The so-called offences all stem from 2018 to 2021. What then is the relevance of an 11-year-old video to the case? The answer is simple—there is no case, and Nigeria knows it,” IPOB contended.

“Let the world take note: our leader is being persecuted, not prosecuted. They are not trying him for crimes; they are punishing him for speaking the truth. This is why we demand Biafra. No decent people should be ruled by men this intellectually and morally bankrupt.”

Accusing the federal government of undermining its own legal processes presumably just to get at Kanu, IPOB lamented what it described as the government’s “descent into judicial and prosecutorial madness in the charade called Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu”.

“What unfolded today (yesterday, May 29) at the Federal High Court in Abuja was not just another episode of embarrassment—it was a full-blown exposé of the disgrace, incompetence, and utter desperation that now define the Buhari-Tinubu era’s persecution of our leader and the Biafran cause,” IPOB charged.

“In an act that beggars belief, the Nigerian Department of State Services (DSS), in collusion with the …federal government, presented as evidence a 11-Year-old video interview Mazi Nnamdi Kanu granted to Sahara Reporters in the United States—a public video available on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and every corner of the internet since 2014.

“Let that sink in: a government that claims to be fighting terrorism is rummaging through Facebook for evidence. The only investigation Nigeria carried out was opening a browser and typing “Nnamdi Kanu Sahara Reporters interview”, “Nnamdi Kanu at World Igbo Congress”, “Nnamdi Kanu Radio Biafra Broadcasts” on Google.

“That is the level of intelligence at play in a country where trillions vanish without audit and masked men testify in courtrooms. The DSS has not even pretended to investigate. They are simply scrolling through the internet trying to cook up material to nail a man whose only “crime” is demanding justice, freedom, and dignity for the oppressed people of Biafra.”

Alluding to the perceived incompetence of the government’s “star witnesses”, IPOB, in a statement issued by the group’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, said: “Their so-called “star witness” today—codenamed PW-CCC, fully masked and clearly clueless—was shredded to pieces in the courtroom by the incomparable Paul Erokoro SAN, who with five piercing questions destroyed what’s left of this kangaroo trial.

“The witness, who was supposedly testifying on a matter of national security, could not even confirm if Peter Obi, a former Vice Presidential candidate and national figure, is alive or dead. That is the level of intelligence the Nigerian state deems worthy of presenting in a high-profile trial.

“To crown the disgrace, after their “witness” collapsed like a sandcastle in a hurricane, the embarrassed prosecution began begging—yes, begging—for an adjournment. Not a short one, but a two-month delay to figure out what next to fabricate. Only the insistence of Justice Omotosho forced them to come back in a few days. They are now scrambling to find their next masked liar.”

The group further sneered that the absence of the lead prosecutor, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo in court yesterday was “no coincidence” but that the senior lawyer most likely knew what a disaster was about to unfold and conveniently vanished to avoid the stench of defeat.”

“This is why we want out of this country called Nigeria. A country where lawyers wear wigs but can’t reason. A country where a courtroom becomes a circus, and a government stoops to scraping the internet in a billion-naira case, rather than building credible evidence through legitimate means.

“The Attorney-General of Nigeria, the DSS, and all their collaborators must bow their heads in eternal shame. This is not justice. This is not law. This is tyranny, coated in cowardice, draped in deceit, and sustained by impunity. – Abeyanews

A.I