The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has told a Federal High Court in Abuja that he was coerced by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) into making confessional statements following his arrest in 2015.
Kanu made the allegation on Wednesday during a trial-within-a-trial session ordered by the presiding judge, Justice James Omotosho, to determine whether the statements he made to the DSS were voluntary or obtained under duress.
The development followed the appearance of the prosecution’s third witness, identified only as CCC, who, like the two earlier witnesses (AAA and BBB), was part of the DSS team that interrogated Kanu in 2015.
The witness testified that he and two other officers conducted interviews with Kanu on October 21, 22, 23, 24, and November 4, 2015. He said the sessions were recorded on video and that Kanu wrote statements after each one.
Prosecution counsel Adegboyega Awomolo tendered two video compact discs (CDs) and three handwritten statements allegedly made by Kanu as evidence. Although the defence initially did not oppose the tendered exhibits, one of Kanu’s lawyers, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Paul Erokoro, later raised an objection, stating that Kanu had just informed him the statements were made under pressure.
Erokoro told the court that DSS operatives denied Kanu access to legal representation and threatened him with prolonged detention and health-related deprivation. He alleged that Kanu’s daily one-hour fresh air break — recommended by medical personnel due to his health condition — was used as leverage to extract confessions.
Kanu, during his testimony in the trial-within-a-trial, described his ordeal, claiming he was blindfolded, chained at both hands and feet, and flown to Abuja without knowledge of his destination. He said upon arrival, he was kept in solitary confinement without light.
He further alleged that a DSS officer named Mr. Brown, identified as the assistant director of investigations, threatened to keep him in solitary confinement indefinitely if he refused to cooperate.
“Mr. Brown told me if I don’t do what they ask, they will stop giving me that one-hour break,” Kanu said through his lawyer.
Under cross-examination, Kanu maintained that parts of the video interview played in court had been edited and that he was instructed by DSS operatives on what to write in his statements.
The DSS witness, however, denied the allegations, insisting that the IPOB leader gave the statements voluntarily. When questioned about DSS procedures, the witness said he was not aware of any unauthorized threats made to Kanu, noting that he never entered Kanu’s cell personally.
Erokoro challenged the witness by suggesting that if a DSS officer named Mr. Brown had visited Kanu to issue threats, the witness would be unaware — a point the witness rejected, stating, “The DSS does not operate like that.”
Following Kanu’s testimony, the trial-within-a-trial was brought to a close. Justice Omotosho directed both the prosecution and defence teams to adopt their written addresses and file them by 9 a.m. on May 29.
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