Latest news with #Biafra
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
The corner of Nigeria enforcing ‘sit-at-home strikes' with deadly effect
Emeka was on the way to open his shop when he heard the first gunshots. He started running for his life and just yards away, saw someone hit by a bullet then drop to the floor with a thud. He didn't stop running, knowing that if he did, he'd be the next victim. That was four years ago – and the torment has never ended for Emeka and his neighbours. For every Monday, those living across Nigeria's south-east are subjected to 'sit-at-home strikes' during which they are not allowed to leave their homes under the orders of banned separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob). Banks are shut, schools are closed, shopkeepers stay at home and residents stay off the streets. If they defy the orders, they will beaten or shot dead on the street, with their cars set on fire – sometimes with them still inside. 'They use Mondays to terrorise people in the name of fighting for Biafra. They kill innocent people [and] burn motors that refuse to sit at home,' Emeka, who declined to give his real name for fear of reprisals, told The Telegraph. 'Seriously, things are not going well.' Monday used to be the busiest day of the week for Emeka's chemist shop in the southern city of Aba. Now business grinds to a halt. His shop and the stalls across Ariaria market – one of the largest in West Africa – are deserted and the city is left as a ghost town. The Ipob, labelled a terrorist organisation by Nigerian authorities, launched the weekly sit-at-home protest in August 2021 across the five states of Nigeria's south-east, which is predominantly inhabited by the Igbo ethnic group. Their aim was to pressure the government into releasing Nnamdi Kanu, the group's leader. The group has since said they have called off the strikes, claiming they have been hijacked by criminal groups. The disruption has now dragged on for four years. At least 700 people have been killed and the local economy has been blighted by the carnage, with losses surpassing 7.6 trillion naira (£3.7bn). Among the dead are civilians punished for defying the weekly order, as well as those who have died amid clashes between the separatists and Nigerian security forces, according to SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based research firm. Ikemesit Effiong, a partner at SBM, said the strike had created a 'climate of fear and economic paralysis' in the region. Ipob have subjected locals to arson, looting and targeted assassinations, the firm said. The violence and economic blight are driving people away from what has traditionally been one of Nigeria's commercial hotspots. Ngozi left her village in Imo state for Lagos with her husband and children because of what she said were relentless assaults against people not complying with the protest. She said: 'You almost cannot see any young person in my community now, everybody left. If you speak about them, they will come and burn your house and kill everybody they can find.' One trader who sells plastic ware in the city of Onitsha, who only gave her name as Janet, said: 'I am not in support of Biafra or Nigeria but since we cannot go to work, I just stay at home with my family to be safe.' Mazi Austin Agbanyim, Ipob's Europe representative, confirmed the group had started the stay-at-home protest to demand the release of Mr Kanu, who was arrested in Kenya in 2021. Mr Kanu is a British dual national who has championed Biafran independence for years and formerly ran a campaigning radio station from his flat in Peckham, South London. Biafra briefly seceded from Nigeria in the late 1960s, prompting civil war and the deaths of at least a million people, before the breakaway was blockaded and starved into surrender. After his arrest in Kenya he was taken back to Nigeria where he has been held ever since and faces terrorism charges. Ipob claims it has since called off the protests and they are not responsible for the deaths of civilians, arguing instead that they have been 'hijacked by criminal imposters'. Mr Agbanyim told The Telegraph: 'They were paid by the enemies of Biafra freedom to infiltrate our movement, criminalise it, and cause division. They did so by illegally enforcing sit-at-home on Mondays and killing those who dare violate their orders.' Analysts say the situation has been further confused by other armed groups claiming allegiance to Ipob and factions within the group persisting in enforcing the protest. Criminal gangs are also thought to have latched on to the chaos. Polling shows that any support for the protest has plummeted as the years have dragged on. Despite Ipob's attempts to disassociate itself from the region's violence, Nigerian police have accused the group of involvement in several incidents, including a 2021 attack on a prison and the murder of over 30 travellers earlier this month. The Ipob denied responsibility for those two attacks. Nigeria's federal high court in Abuja last week said it would rule on Oct 10 whether to free Mr Kanu. Back in Aba, Emeka is convinced that a release would ease the situation, though he is not sure which way the court will go. He said: 'I just wish one day it will end.'
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Israel's food points are not just death traps – they're an alibi for the starvation of Gaza
When mass starvation grips a community, something rare and terrible occurs. Starvation is not only the biological phenomenon of the body wasting away. It's also the death rattle of society. Famine is the sight of people scavenging for food in a garbage heap. It's a woman cooking in secret, hiding food from her starving cousins. It's a family selling its grandmother's jewellery for a single meal, their faces blank and emotionless, their eyes glazed. This is the degradation, the humiliation, the shame – and, yes, the dehumanisation – that happens when human beings scrabble for food like animals. This is a reality that no statistics can capture. And the methods for measuring food emergencies and assigning them grades – 'famine' being the worst – break down when society breaks down in this way. But just as an experienced physician can diagnose a fever without having to send blood samples to the laboratory, veteran humanitarian workers, who witnessed the depths of human suffering in Biafra in 1969 or in Ethiopia in 1984, recognise these symptoms when they see them. And they see it in Gaza today. Turn to the statements of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – the US and Israel-backed organisation that began operating in May – and you enter a different world. The GHF presents itself as a professional, compassionate operation designed for the 21st century. You will see images of order and efficiency, and a proud announcement that it delivered more than 2m meals yesterday from its four 'secure distribution sites'. And alongside the pictures of those starving children, of women collapsing from hunger, there are also pictures of healthy young men. In contrast to the footage, filmed by Palestinian journalists, of the desperate scramble for the little aid still provided through the UN, the GHF has images of orderly distributions, of its own workers holding the hands of Palestinian children. Israeli spokespeople insist that the United Nations has hundreds of trucks of food inside the Gaza perimeter that it refuses to distribute. But that rosy picture doesn't stand even the simplest scrutiny. There are four reasons why it's at best an improvisation by amateurs and at worst a cover for the crime of ongoing mass starvation. First, the numbers just don't add up. In April, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN calculated the food stocks remaining in Gaza, after 18 months of siege and war, and two months of total Israeli blockade. It estimated that food availability would fall to only half what's needed to sustain life at some point between May and July. That means that the aid effort needs to cover the entirety of Gaza's food needs. Two million meals a day is less than half of what's needed. The GHF rations may have slowed the march of starvation, but not by much. Second, you can't relieve famine by numbers alone. The GHF system is like standing at the edge of a big pond and feeding the fish by throwing breadcrumbs. Who gets to eat its rations? Starvation strikes the vulnerable minority. The metric used by the UN for determining when acute food insecurity is at famine levels is when 20% of families are facing extreme food shortage. Starvation strikes the weakest, not the strongest. Over the decades, humanitarian programmes have worked out how best to target the poorest, such as women without their husbands, looking after several children and perhaps elderly parents as well. It's the last mile of aid delivery that counts. The GHF runs four ration stations. Three are in the far south of Gaza in the ruins of Rafah, one in central Gaza. They're all in military zones. They open for short periods and short notice. To get these rations, people must camp out in the rubble – ready to rush to the gates at a moment's notice, and running the gauntlet of the Israel Defense Forces' military posts. They know that the only means IDF soldiers have for crowd control is firing live ammunition – even when they're not shooting to kill. When the GHF speaks of 'secure distribution sites', it's referring to how it controls its packages up to the point of handing them over, not to how it safely delivers them to the neediest. Dozens of aid seekers are killed each day trying to reach these sites. How will the overstressed mother of hungry children, or elderly or disabled people, join this stampede? How would they run the gauntlet not only of those military posts but also of the gangsters keen to steal the most valuable foodstuffs for themselves, or to sell in the market? The GHF has no idea who is eating the rations. Theirs isn't a formula for feeding the poorest. It's the law of the jungle. Third, the assistance must be designed for what people really need. Top of the list are specialised foods to care for malnourished children who cannot consume regular meals, such as Plumpy'Nut, a ready-to-use therapeutic food. The GHF ration box typically contains flour, pasta, tahini, cooking oil, rice and chickpeas or lentils. No baby food. No Plumpy'Nut. And it has no trained nurses or nutritionists in the community to actually provide therapeutic care to starving children. Consider the desperate mother who's literally at the end of the food chain: how will she cook the rations she gets? How does she find clean water? Israel has reduced water availability to a small fraction of need, and is bombing the remaining desalination plants. What can she use to make a fire? Without electricity or cooking gas, she may burn garbage to heat food. And last and most tellingly, a truly humanitarian operation supports the afflicted people, respecting the dignity of those in need, working with the communities. The GHF, essentially, does the opposite: it humiliates and undermines. The social breakdown that we are witnessing, the degrading of human beings, is not a byproduct of the harm that Israel is inflicting. That's the central element of the crime: destroying Palestinian society. The government of Israel shows no indication that it cares in the slightest whether Palestinians live or die. It wants to avoid the stigma of being accused of starvation and genocide, and the GHF is its current alibi. Let's not be fooled. Alex de Waal is executive director of the World Peace Foundation at Tufts University in Massachusetts. He has been a humanitarian worker and written on famine and related issues for 40 years
Reuters
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Fact Check: Kenya has not demanded Nigeria return separatist leader
Kenya's foreign ministry has dismissed reports circulating widely on social media that it has filed a lawsuit against the Nigerian government demanding the "return" of Biafran separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu. Kanu, a British citizen and separatist leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement in Nigeria, was arrested there in 2015, but went missing while on bail in 2017. He was detained in Kenya in 2021 and appeared back in court in Nigeria later that year, charged with seven counts of terrorism - charges he denies in his ongoing trial. His lawyer has accused Kenyan special forces of abducting Kanu, which Kenya has denied. In May, posts published, opens new tab on Facebook alongside two images – one of Kenyan President William Ruto and the other of Kanu – said: "Breaking News: Kenya Threatens Nigeria with ICC Action Over Abduction of Nnamdi Kanu". The posts said the Kenyan government had filed a lawsuit against the Nigerian government "demanding the immediate return of Nnamdi Kanu to Kenya". The posts also cited an unnamed Kenyan government spokesperson as saying Nigerian agents had infiltrated Kenya to "abduct" Kanu, in what they described as "an act of aggression that could be interpreted as a declaration of war". Korir Sing'oei, the principal secretary of Kenya's Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, told Reuters that Kenya had not filed any proceedings in any court on the issue. "No such statement has been issued by Kenya," he said in a message. "The matter is outside the remit of the ICC in any event." Kanu's lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, told Reuters he was "not aware of any such legal proceedings filed by Kenya". The ICC prosecutes individuals allegedly responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. A spokesperson for the ICC told Reuters in an email that it "only deals with questions of individual responsibility and not States". No Nigerian national is listed as a defendant in any of the ICC's 33 cases published on its website, opens new tab. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the only international court with the remit to settle disputes between the UN's 193 Member States, which includes both Kenya and Nigeria. A representative for the ICJ told Reuters in an email that there is currently no case on the court's docket instituted by Kenya against Nigeria A spokesperson for Nigeria's foreign ministry did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. False. The Principal Secretary of Kenya's Foreign Ministry said the government has not filed any proceedings demanding Kanu be transferred to the country. An ICC spokesperson said it only deals with individuals, not states. This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.
BBC News
20-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Timeline of how Nnamdi Kanu terrorism trial don go since new judge take over
On Thursday, di lawyers of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of di Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob), tok say dem go file a no-case submission over di terrorism charges wey di Nigeria goment sama on am. Dem tok dis one afta di federal goment close dia case for di trial afta dem don call five witnesses and tender plenty documents as exhibits including video and audio broadcasts wey dem say Kanu bin make. Nigeria goment dey try Kanu on terrorism allegations. Dem say e terrorise pipo by issuing illegal sit-at-home orders, and by telling im followers to attack and kill police. Kanu plead not gulity to di charges. Dis na di summary of how di matter take reach dis stage since Justice James Omotosho take over from Justice Binta Nyako: Re-arraignment... Kanu plead no guilty Di matter start afresh on 21 March, 2025 as di Nigeria goment re-arraign Kanu on seven counts of terrorism, belonging to a terrorist group, and illegal importation of radio equipment. Kanu plead not guilty. On dat day, our tori pesin wey don dey cover dis trial since 2019, notice say Kanu don change im lead counsels and employ ogbonge senior advocates like di former Attorney General of di Federation and Minister of Justice, Kanu Agabi; Onyechi Ikpeazu, Emeka Etiaba, Paul Erokoro and so. Bifor dis time, Kanu lead counsel na Ifeanyi Ejiofor and Aloy Ejimakor, and later Mike Ozekhome (SAN) join dem for some time bifor dem withdraw am again. On di day of re-arraignment, Kanu Agabi apologise to di court for how Nnamdi Kanu bin para for Justice Nyako and di FG lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo during di previous hearings. Justice Omotosho accept di apology as e tok say e understand say di defendant bin tok out of anger sake of say di case don last for ten years now. "As I dey look di case file, I see say dis matter start wen di defendant dey 45 years old, now e dey 55 years, so I understand im anger. Dat na why I go grant accelerated hearing for dis matter," Omotosho tok. And true-true, e grant accelerated hearing. PW1 - Mr AAA For di next adjourned date - 29 April, 2025, di Nigeria goment call dia first prosecution witness, Mr AAA (no be im real name). All di goment witnesses testify using codenames AAA to EEE for di five witnesses, sake of say dem dey work wit di Department of State Services (DSS), wey be Nigeria secret security outfit. Di court also permit dem to testify behind cover and for dem to also wear mask. Mr AAA na di officer wey lead di arrest of Nnamdi Kanu for 2015. Dem arrest am for one hotel close to di Lagos International Airport. Di witness tok say dem arrest Kanu wit one woman for im room, and dem recover plenty broadcasting equipment for im hand, but during cross-examination, e confirm say dem no find any terrorism equipment wit am. E tender videos of statement wey Kanu bin make for di DSS headquarters in Abuja afta dem transport am from Lagos. For dat video, im lawyer Aloy Ejimakor and one oda lawyer dey dia. Di witness also tender in evidence two boxes containing Kanu personal belongings like shoes, wrist-watches, and perfumes, plus some broadcasting equipment like microphones, tripods, laptops, ipads, and internet modems. PW2 - Mr BBB Di second prosecution witness - Mr BBB start im own testimony on 7 May, 2025. E tok say im na one of di lead officers wey investigate Nnamdi Kanu, afta di den AGF Abubakar Malami, write a petition to DSS complaining of di broadcasts wey di Ipob leader dey make on social media using Radio Biafra. Dis witness tender video evidence wia Nnamdi Kanu announce di creation of di Eastern Security Network (ESN), and wia e threaten Bola Tinubu and say e go destroy im properties for Lagos. Mr BBB also say dia investigation show say Nnamdi Kanu broadcasts dey directly connected to di violence and killings wey dey go on for di southeast region. E also tender as exhibit, di death certificate of Ahmed Gulak, wey be chieftain of di All progressives Congress (APC) wey jaguda pipo bin kill for Owerri Imo State on 30 May, 2021. Di witness claim say na Ipob fighters kill Gulak sake of say e disobey di sit-at-home order wey Kanu bin give for dat May 30 - a day wey Ipob dey mark as Biafra Remembrance Day. During cross-examination, BBB deny say no be DSS pipo arrest Kanu for Kenya. E say dia work no dey cross outside Nigeria. Also, Kanu lawyers tender video evidence of di Govnor of Imo State as e tok say Ipob no dey responsible for di killings for di state, rather na politicians dey do am. Dem also play videos of retired Major General for di Nigeria Army, T.Y Danjuma, and di current Director-General of di DSS Adeola Ajayi wia dem dey tell di public make dem rise up and defend diasef from terrorists and bandits PW3 - Mr CCC Dis witness na also one of di officers wey bin investigate Kanu wen dem arrest am from 2015. E tok say im and two oda DSS officers bin interview Kanu on October 21, 22, 23 and 24, and again on November 4 of dat 2015, and e present di video recording of dat interview to be tendered as evidence. However, one of Nnamdi Kanu lawyers, Paul Erokoro inform di court say Kanu tell am say im bin dey under duress wen e make di statement. Prosecution lawyer say no be true, say Kanu make di statement voluntarily witout any force. To determine weda to accept di video in evidence, Justice Omotosho order for trial within trial. Dem play di video for court and e show say Kanu bin complain several times say e dey entitled to a lawyer but di DSS no wan give am im lawyer. Justice Omotosho rule say e no go admit di evidence bicos e go against di evidence act wey clearly state say a defendant must to make im statement in di presence of im legal representative. "I hereby order as follows: Dat di statement of di defendant dated 21 to 24 October and November 4 2015 dey inadmissible in evidence. "Dat di video recordings of di statement wey I bin don admit and marked PWQ and PWR, also dey inadmissible and hereby marked rejected," Omotosho tok. PW4 - Mr DDD Anoda DSS officer, dis witness say e work for di Imo State command between 2019 and 2022, and na im lead di team wey recover di radio transmitter wey Kanu bin allegedly import into di kontri illegally. Oga DDD say dem use ogbonge technology to geolocate one video wey Kanu bin make wia e tell im followers say dia radio transmitter don land. E say dem locate di equipment for Ubuluisiuzor Community, for Ihiala local goment area of Anambra State, for di compound of one Benjamin Madubugwu. Dem hide di transmitter inside di container and cover am wit household items like mattresses and washing machines, e tok. Dis witness also tell di court how one IPOB/ESN commander wey police arrest, bin confess say Nnamdi Kanu order dem to bury one of dia commander wey police kill wit 2000 human heads, but na 30 pipo dem don get so far bifor police arrest am. According to DDD, dis arrested Ipob member name na Uzoma Benjamin, a.k.a 'Onye Army. However, e admit say no be im interview di suspect, but na wetin di newspapers publish. Di witness tender a publication of Vanguard Newspaper of 3 July, wey contain di report. E also tok claim say na Ipob kill Ahmed Gulak bicos e disobey sit-at-home order wey Nnamdi Kanu bin declare. However, during cross-examination, one of Kanu lawyers Onyechi Ikpeazu, point out say Gulak na politician, and na im be di chairman of di primary election wey produce Uzodinma as di APC govnorship candidate for Imo State. Ikpeazu ask di witness why e be say di killers kill only Gulak, but dem no touch di driver of im vehicle and di oda passenger wey dey wit am dat time, since na all of dem disobey di sit-at-home order. E also point out say di govment of Imo State later come out to explain say di killing of Gulak dey politically motivated. PW5 - Mr EEE Dis last witness tell di court say im work na to investigate wetin happen during di End SARS nationwide protest of October 2020 for Nigeria. EEE insist say di issue of police brutality na di secondary cause of di protest, but di underlying reasons na bicos say some subversive elements, like Nnamdi Kanu, bin don dey incite di public against di goment. E tender document of dia investigation as evidence, and di document show say about 175 security officers - including policemen, army pipo and DSS pipo - bin die across di kontri during di protest. For di cross-examination, Ikpeazu ask di witness say: Shey you dey categorically tell di court say di End SARS protests na Biafran issue?" Di witness respond say "my assignment no be to investigate Biafra, my assignment na to investigate di End SARS protest to which di defendant bin incite di public." Ikpeazu den point to di report of di panel of enquiry into di End SARS protest for Lagos State, and say di report no mention Ipob or Nnamdi Kanu anywia as di pipo wey dey responsible. E also try to poke holes for di document wey Mr EEE bin tender, as e point out say di document no get di signature or stamp of di pipo wey claim say na dem write am. Also Ikpeazu point out say di document get inconsistencies, like wia e refer to Osun State as Ekiti State, and places wia details of di dead bodies of di security pipo wey dem claim say Ipob/ESN pipo kill durin End SARS no dey clear. As cross-examination end, Awomolo, counsel to di goment inform di court say dem dey close dia case for hia, as dem believe say di evidences dem provide and di witnesses dem call don dey sufficient. No-case submission Kanu Agabi, di lead defence counsel inform di court say dem go file no-case submission, since di prosecution don exhaust dia case. "Chief Awomolo get di misfortune of trying dis case, and we get di misfortune of defending am, bicos we no see any case at all for dis charges against our client," Agabi tok. E ask di trial judge to give dem some days to file dia written address on di no case submission. Justice Omotosho grant di defence team 14 days to fille dia written address, and also 14 days to di prosecution team to file dia own. Omotosho adjourn di matter to 18 July, 2025, for di two sides to come and adopt dia addresses so dat e go rule, perhaps afta Judges come back from dia annual Vacation wey dey start from late July to early September. Di Charges against Kanu Since 2015 wen di Nigeria goment first arrest Nnamdi Kanu, na only April dis year im trial start well-well. Remember say di matter bin dey bifor Justice Binta Nyako of di Federal High Court Abuja, and na she bin grant Kanu bail on health grounds in 2017, but Kanu run for im life comot for Nigeria afta soldiers bin carry out security operation for im House in Umuahia, Abia State for southeast Nigeria. In June 2021, security pipo for Kenya arrest Kanu and carry am by force come bak to Nigeria to face trial. Di initial charges against di ipob leader bin dey 15, but Justice Nyako bring am down to seven. Even though di Court of Appeal later strike out all di charges and discharge Kanu, di Supreme Court reinstated di seven charges as dem tok say di Ipob leader get questions to ansa. Here na di seven charges:
BBC News
19-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Nigeria goment close case against Ipob leader but Nnamdi Kanu lawyers wan file no-case submission
Lawyers to Nnamdi Kanu, leader of di Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob), don tok say dem go file a no-case submission on top di terrorism allegation wey di Nigeria goment sama on top dia client. Kanu Agabi wey be di lead defence team for Nnamdi Kanu, tok dis one for court on Thursday afta di federal goment counsel - Adegboyega Awomolo - inform di court say dem dey close dia case. For di hearing on Thursday, Awomolo call dia fifth and final witness, Mr EEE (no be im real name), who be officer of di Department of State Services. Di witness tell di court say na im lead investigation into di impact of di End SARS protest wey bin happun for across di kontri in October of 2020, and im be di secretary of di presidential ad-hoc committee on di assessment of impact of di end sars protest. E say im and im team bin travel to all di states for Southern Nigeria wia End SARS protest bin happun and e document di public properties wey pipo destroy and di number of security personnel wey kpai during di protest. Awomolo present to di court a copy of di report of di committee, and Nnamdi Kanu lawyers say dem get objection, but dem go raise am for dia written address. Di trial Judge, James Omotosho admit di document in evidence. According to di report, a total of 128 policemen, 37 army pipo and 10 DSS pipo bin die during di protest. Also di protesters destroy a total of 164 police stations and 19 Inec facilities across di kontri. 'Nnamdi Kanu broadcasts na di major cause of End SARS protest' As e dey give im witness, oga EEE tok say dia investigation reveal say di broadcasts wey Nnamdi Kanu bin dey do ova di years, na im be di underlying cause of di insurrection. E say: "As a trained security expert, we know say evri insurrection dey get two causes, di one wey pipo dey see and di underlying cause wey pipo no see, wey be di main cause of di insurrection." During cross-examination, Onyechi Ikpeazu wey be one of Nnamdi Kanu lawyers ask di witness say: "So, di entire End SARS protest na bicos di defendant ask pipo to protest?" EEE ansa say im no know about dat but e know say di defendant bin don dey tell pipo make dem attack security officials and destroy public property. "So when pipo bin destroy properties for Osun and Lagos state during the End SARS protest, you dey tell di court say na bicos di defendant ask dem to do am? Shey you dey categorically say di End SARS issue na Biafran issue?" Ikpeazu ask. Di witness respond say "my assignment no be to investigate Biafra, my assignment na to investigate di End SARS issue to which di defendant bin incite di public." EEE insist say di issue of police brutality fit be di secondary cause of di protest, but di real reasons na bicos say some subversive elements bin don dey incite di public against di goment. Nnamdi Kanu broadcasts na one of dose underlying causes. Di defense counsel den ask for a copy of di Lagos State judicial panel of enquiry into the End SARS protest, wey dem bin don tendered in evidence as exhibit PWO. E tell di witness say: "I put it to you say dis report no mention di defendant name or di IPOB or to indict dem for di damages wey happen during di End SARS protest." Oga EEE reply say im neva read di report so e no know wetin e tok. Also during di cross examination Ikpeazu point out to di witness some discrepancies for di document including say dem no give details of di dead bodies of di security pipo wey dem claim say Ipob/ESN pipo kill durin End SARS, and di fact say neither di witness wey claim to be secretary of di investigative committee nor di chairman of di committee sign di document. Ikpeazu also point out to di witness say di part of di report wey concern oda states of di kontri, di title na 'Report of di Assessment of di damage of impact of di End SARS protest', but from page 669 wey concern states in di southeast region, di title na 'Report of di Presidential adhoc committee investigating di activities of di leader of IPOB and ESN'. "I put it to you dat for di purpose of dis trial, una manufacture pages 669 downwards of dis document and den attach am to di report of the Assessment of di damage of impact of the end SARS protest," Ikpeazu tell di witness, and e say "No, dat is not di case". Afta di cross exmaination, FG lawyer Awomolo inform di court say dem don exhaust dia materials for di trial as dem don call five witnesses and tender plenty documents in evidence, "we hereby close our case". Di lead defence counsel, Kanu Agabi tell di court say dem intend to file a no-case submission. No-case submission na legal term wey mean to say di defence team dey tok say di prosecution no do enough to establish any case against di defendant, so make di court strike out di case. Justice Omotosho give both di prosecution and defence teams 14 days each to file dia written addresses, and e adjourn di matter to Friday, 18 July, 2025, for adoption of written addresses in respect of no case submission.
