By Ab Susan
Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has filed a direct criminal complaint against two Department of State Services (DSS) witnesses ahead of the judgment in his terrorism case, which is slated for Thursday, November 20 ¹ ². In the complaint, lodged at a chief magistrate’s court in Abuja, Kanu accuses the witnesses—identified only as TAA (PW1) and BBB (PW2)—of giving “false evidence on oath” during the trial‑within‑trial that took place between May and July 2025.
The complaint outlines specific contradictions in the testimonies. Kanu points out that TAA, on page 352 of the certified transcript, claimed he did not know Mr. Brown Ekwoaba, the DSS assistant director who supervised Kanu’s 2015 detention, yet affidavits from Prince Emmanuel Kanu and Benjamin Madubugwu confirm Ekwoaba’s direct involvement in those interviews ¹ ³. Similarly, BBB is alleged to have denied ever meeting Kanu except in court, despite earlier statements (pages 184‑188) that he led a video interview with Kanu on 17 July 2021 at DSS headquarters.
Kanu’s legal team, led by Aloy Ejimakor, argues that both witnesses were deliberately shielded behind masks and screens by court order, a move they say was intended to hide the true chain of custody of the 2015 and 2021 statements and to conceal the conditions of Kanu’s solitary confinement ⁵ ⁶. The complaint cites Sections 156, 158(1), 159(1) and 160 of the Penal Code, Section 88 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, and Sections 34 and 36 of the 1999 Constitution, which together protect the right to a fair trial and prohibit perjury.
In addition to the perjury allegations, Kanu has named the Attorney‑General of the Federation (AGF) and the DSS Director‑General as co‑conspirators, accusing them of suborning perjury, fabricating evidence, and obstructing justice by deploying “masked, coached witnesses” ⁵ ³. He is seeking criminal summons against the two witnesses, an investigation into the AGF and DSS DG, and the production of unredacted logs, video recordings, and identities of all masked officers involved.
Kanu, who has been in DSS custody since June 2021, has opted to defend himself after dismissing his legal team, maintaining that the charges against him are baseless and his detention unlawful ⁶ ⁷. He has consistently argued that the prosecution’s case rests on fabricated, coerced, and perjured evidence, and he is urging the court to acknowledge this in its upcoming judgment.
The case has drawn significant attention, with IPOB supporters and various observers watching closely as the November 20 judgment approaches. Whether the magistrate’s court will act on Kanu’s complaint remains to be seen, but the filing marks a rare instance of a detainee initiating criminal proceedings against state witnesses from custody.
