Kanu’s threat to break up Nigeria not empty boast, FG tells court

Government said Kanu, leader of IPOB, who publicly declared his intention to break up Nigeria, and whose actions led to the death of scores of security agents and Nigerians, should be made to answer for his crimes.

Responding to a No Case submission made by Kanu, counsel to the government, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, said the Biafran leader’s many broadcasts caused Nigerians great pain.

The senior lawyer told Justice James Omotosho to reject the claims by Kanu that he had no case to answer in the seven-count terrorism charges brought against him by the federal government.

Awomolo argued that boasting to break up Nigeria is a fundamental security issue to the nation and should not be trivialized as an empty threat as claimed by Kanu.

The government lawyer told the court that Kanu in a broadcast directed his followers to go after police men and kill them along with their families, adding that over 170 security agents were killed shortly after the broadcast.

“The defendant made a broadcast. He proudly declared himself as IPOB leader even when he knew that IPOB had been proscribed. He made a broadcast that the world will come to a standstill.

“The law of Nigeria prohibits words capable of making Nigerians live in perpetual fears, threatening to bring Nigeria down. The aim is to create Biafra and not a mere boasting and there are consequences for such boasting,” said the counsel.

Awomolo urged Justice Omotosho to reject the no case submission by Kanu and order him to enter his defence in the charges against him, stressing that the no case application was a misplaced and misconceived one.

Kanu’s lawyer, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, had faulted the prosecution of his client in the charges and asked the court to discharge and acquit him.

Among others, Agabi said that throughout the proceedings, no single witness was called to tell the court how he was incited by Kanu to resort to violence.

He also informed the court that the five witnesses called during trial who are operatives of the Department of the State Service, DSS, admitted that their roles were limited to obtaining statements from Kanu.

Agabi argued that no investigation whatsoever was carried out on Kanu’s statements and no report of any investigation on terrorism allegations was made available to the court.

The senior lawyer drew the attention of the court to the fact that the charges against Kanu were amended eight times, yet no one came to testify he was instigated to violence.

Insisting that Kanu was only asking people to defend themselves from wanton killings, Agabi argued that the threat to bring the world down by Kanu was a mere boast and should not be used against him to justify terrorism offences.

He said that asking Nigerians to defend themselves is a Constitutional right and has been re-echoed by other Nigerians including General T. Y Danjuma rtd.

Agabi also faulted solitary confinement of Kanu in the last 10 years in violations of international law that solidarity confinement must not last for more than 15 days.

Insisting that ingredients of terrorism charges were not established throughout the trial, Agabi pleaded with the judge to hold that no prima facie case was made against Kanu to warrant ordering him to enter defence in the charges.

Justice Omotosho after taking arguments for and against the no case application fixed October 10 for his ruling.