A Department of State Services (DSS) witness has told the Federal High Court in Abuja that the agency’s personnel, Ekpenyong Owoh, was abducted and murdered by four suspected members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in February 2022.
The witness, identified as PW1 and a DSS investigator, made the disclosure before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik while testifying in the ongoing trial of the four defendants.
The defendants are Michael Okafor, also known as Onyechimeleze; Chinedu Chukwudozie, alias Kante; Chibunna Olisa; and Chigozie Olisa, also known as Ability.
They were arraigned before Justice Abdulmalik on September 28 on a six-count charge bordering on terrorism and kidnapping.
The prosecution alleged that the defendants conspired to commit acts of terrorism and abducted the late Owoh while he was travelling from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to Awka.
They were also accused of taking the DSS operative hostage and subsequently killing him.
The defendants were further accused of belonging to the proscribed IPOB and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), as well as unlawfully possessing firearms, including an AK-47 rifle and a pump-action gun, in connection with the alleged offences.
They, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Munirat Oladunjoye, the witness, who testified under the codename “AAA”, said he investigated the case with his team in February 2022.
He told the court that investigations led to the recovery of the late Owoh’s Toyota Pontiac vehicle and mobile phone, while Okafor and the other defendants were subsequently arrested.
The witness alleged that Okafor, who was identified as an ESN sub-commander, and the other defendants were present when the DSS operative was abducted and taken to their camp.
He also told the court that the four defendants had ESN marks on their bodies.
Justice Abdulmalik subsequently ordered the defendants to step forward and remove their shirts, one after another, to enable the court verify the witness’s claim.
The witness and defence counsel, K.C. Ekwe and G.U. Oputa, confirmed the presence of the marks on the defendants’ bodies.
PW1 further told the court that the defendants voluntarily made statements, which were recorded. However, defence counsel alleged that the statements were obtained under duress.
The judge consequently ordered a trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of the statements.
Justice Abdulmalik directed that the witness, who had not been discharged, would continue his testimony after the conclusion of the trial-within-trial.
The witness maintained that the defendants were not tortured and disclosed that video recordings of their statements had been downloaded onto a flash drive.
The prosecution counsel subsequently applied for the confessional video recordings to be played in open court, and the application was granted.
Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the case until November 16 for the continuation of the trial-within-trial and cross-examination of the witness, AAA.
The judge warned that the defence lawyers risked forfeiting their right to cross-examine the witness if they failed to appear on the next adjourned date.
Credit : NTA
