A Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, June 19, admitted a Department of State Services (DSS) report as evidence in the terrorism trial of Indigenous People of Biafra leader Nnamdi Kanu.
Justice James Omotoso accepted the document during the resumed hearing, which casts Kanu as a provocateur in the #EndSARS protests.
The report alleges Kanu “incited violence” that resulted in the deaths of 186 police officers and the destruction of 164 police stations.
It also claims 37 military personnel and ten DSS agents died, and nine INEC offices were damaged across 17 states.
DSS Witness Details Findings, Faces Defence Scrutiny
A DSS operative, identified only as PW5 or Mr EEE, testified that he joined a security team to assess destruction during the 2020 unrest. “I know the defendant through the media. I have never met him face-to-face,” he told the court.
He said his assignment was to gather evidence of damage and death allegedly triggered by Kanu’s speeches.
The prosecution provided damage reports, death certificates for officers, and a compliance certificate through this witness. The defence challenged the documents’ validity, but arguments were postponed to a later date.
During cross-examination, defence counsel Dr Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) pressed the witness on his ability to attribute violence directly to Kanu or IPOB activities. The witness admitted the report lacked clear links, stating, “There is no single caption that links deaths directly to IPOB on any page.”
He also noted the document did not include signatures or photo dates, and was certified only by him in his administrative role.
The court granted both parties 14 days to file arguments on a “no-case submission,” with a two-day window for replies on legal points. Justice Omotoso adjourned the trial to July 18 for final adoption of submissions.
IPOB Condemns Claims as “Baseless and Desperate”
But IPOB quickly dismissed the prosecution’s claims in a statement. Its spokesman, Emma Powerful, called the government’s attempt to link Kanu to #EndSARS “intellectually bankrupt,” and “morally obscene.”
The group said the trial showed the weakness of the government’s case against its leader, noting that the witness gave contradictory answers and the prosecution relied on what it claimed were fabricated documents dated June 2025.
“It is shocking that despite these revelations in open court, the Nigerian media continues to focus on government claims while ignoring evidence that has thoroughly discredited the prosecution’s case,” IPOB stated.
IPOB disputed any evidence of police deaths, challenging the absence of names, ranks, certificates, and eyewitnesses. “Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is not on trial for violence but for daring to demand justice and speak truth to power,” the statement declared. It urged the public and international observers to obtain certified court records to validate these claims.
“The government’s final attempt to prop up its collapsed case was a laughable claim that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu masterminded the EndSARS protest, which everyone knows was a spontaneous youth-led movement that began in Delta State,” the statement added.
IPOB maintained that the #EndSARS protests were spontaneous youth movements originating in Delta State and that Kanu played no role in inciting violence. The next hearing, set for July 18, will determine the outcome of the defence’s no-case argument.
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