DSS after my life, says Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer

Ifeanyi Ejiofor, one of the lawyers of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and director of Radio Biafra, on Monday told James Tsoho, justice of the federal high court, Abuja, that his life was under threat by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Ejiofor narrated how he sought to intervene in an altercation between the relatives of Kanu and men of the DSS at the court premises, but was threatened by a security operative.

“My life is being threatened for no just cause,” he said. “In case anything happens to me, they should be held responsible.”

Similarly, Mohammed Diri, counsel to the  (DSS), told the court that his witnesses were afraid of testifying against Kanu.

“The witnesses ask me to tell the court that though they are ready to come and testify in this case, but not until when they can be shielded from the public,” Diri said.

“This is because they are already receiving threats from the associates of the defendants that they will be dealt with.

“They say I should inform this court that their identities should be shielded from the public. The witnesses say they don’t want their identities to be exposed.”

In his response, Justice Tsoho expressed displeasure that trial was taking time to start off.

“We are facing a lot of distractions in the case. The court’s time is being taken. I don’t know if the case will be forwarded to the agents of God to try,” he said.

“We have to make up our minds that this case should go on.”

On February 19, Justice Tsoho ruled against the application of the federal government to mask its witnesses in the trial of Kanu‎.

‎Tsoho held that masking the witnesses would shield their demeanour from the court.‎

“There is no gain saying that demeanour of witnesses is very crucial in a trial,” he had said.

‎He had also held that sufficient particulars had not been provided by the prosecution to show that the witnesses were being threatened. ‎

Tsoho stated that the Department of State Services (DSS) had already disclosed the names of its witnesses and addresses, indicating that they reside in Lagos, Enugu and Port Harcourt‎-away from the locality of Kanu.‎

“It is not correct therefore to assert that many of the witnesses come from the accused persons location,” he had said.

However, he ruled that names and addresses of the witnesses would not be made public during the trial.‎

Kanu, alongside two accused persons, is facing multiple counts of treasonable felony.