The Federal Government’s witness, identified as BBB, on Wednesday tendered a certified true copy of the death certificate of Ahmed Gulak, allegedly murdered by members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra in 2012 for alleged disobedience of the sit-at-home order.
Gulak was the former Special Adviser on Political Affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
BBB, who was the 2nd prosecution witness (PW-2) and shielded in the ongoing trial of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of IPOB, tendered the document before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja while being led in evidence by the Federal Government’s lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN.
Upon resumed hearing, Awomolo informed the court that though the matter was scheduled for cross-examination of PW-2, he had a question to ask the witness.
“We ask for permission to ask a question, my lord,” he said.
Kanu’s lawyer, Kanu Agabi, SAN, did not oppose Awomolo’s application, and the judge directed him to go ahead.
Awomolo then asked BBB that one of the last pieces of evidence he gave was that during the radio broadcast made by Kanu, he called for a sit-at-home, leading to the death of Gulak.
The witness confirmed the statement.
He said he participated in some of the investigations leading to Gulak’s death.
Besides, he said he had a certificate of his death in the courtroom from the police dated July 18, 2021.
According to the witness, “This is a certified true copy of the medical report of Ahmed Gulak.”
When the document was shown to Agabi, he said he did not have any objection, and Justice Omotosho admitted it in evidence and marked it as Exhibit PWJ.
Awomolo then sought the court’s permission for the document to be given to the witness to read in the open court.
BBB, who read the content of the death certificate, said the document was from the Nigeria Police, Owerri in Imo about Ahmed Gulak, who was allegedly shot dead by hoodlums belonging to IPOB in 2021.
After the question, Agabi began the cross-examination of the witness.
Agabi has also denied reports that he and members of his team were denied access to their client on Tuesday by officials of the Department of State Services in Abuja.
Agabi spoke at the resumed hearing in the case on Wednesday while responding to an enquiry by Justice James Omotosho on whether or not it was true that the information attributed to a member of the defence team, Alloy Ejimakor, was true.
According to the judge, Ejimakor posted on one of his social media platforms that the DSS denied Kanu’s legal team access to him.
While responding, Agabi said none of such happened. He blamed Ejimakor for the mix-up and commended the conduct of the DSS officials, whom he said were very respectful and courteous.
Agabi said, “I was not denied access to the defendant. We had arranged to go there with me, Ikpeazu, Etiaba, and Erokoro. But for some reason, they were not available.
“When I got to the gate around 1pm, they said our name had not arrived. To be fair, they (the DSS officials) showed me enough respect. I said I will come back on another date.”
He added that he was surprised and became angry when he learnt that a member of his team had put on the internet that he was not allowed access to the defendant.
When asked by the judge what informed his decision, Ejimakor said he thought Agabi was angry that he was denied access to Kanu when they spoke on the phone, a position the ex-AGF countered and explained that he got angry because Ejimakor gave him the wrong time for the appointment.
IPOB disagrees with FG
Meanwhile, IPOB has sharply criticized what it describes as a “desperate and dishonest” effort by the Federal Government of Nigeria to implicate its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, in the 2021 murder of Ahmed Gulak, former aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan.
In a statement issued by IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, the group accused the government of attempting to divert public attention from what it termed “the disgraceful collapse” of the prosecution’s case against Kanu.
The statement followed Wednesday’s court proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where a government witness, identified as PW-BBB, tendered a death certificate alleging Gulak was killed by IPOB members for violating a sit-at-home order.
Emma Powerful dismissed the certificate as “having no evidentiary value,” condemning the prosecution’s counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, for “unethical” attempts to introduce evidence after closing his examination-in-chief.
IPOB maintained that such actions are aimed at masking the failure of a politically motivated prosecution.
Challenging the prosecution’s narrative, Powerful clarified that IPOB’s 2021 sit-at-home observance took place on Monday, May 31, 2021, while Gulak was murdered on Sunday, May 30 — a full day earlier.