By Wealth Oghenemaro
A prosecution witness from the Department of State Services (DSS) on Wednesday gave disturbing revelations before the Federal High Court in Abuja, alleging that members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its militant wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), were involved in gruesome ritual killings, including the consumption of human flesh for spiritual fortification.
Testifying under the pseudonym “DDD” for security reasons, the witness appeared as the fourth prosecution witness (PW-4) in the ongoing terrorism trial of IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, which resumed before Justice James Omotosho. The Federal Government was represented by senior lawyer, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN.
In a shocking account, the DSS operative told the court that during a raid on an ESN hideout, his team encountered seven members of the group in possession of human heads, with some of them allegedly eating human flesh as part of spiritual rituals for protection. The raid, he said, was one of several efforts to disrupt IPOB’s violent activities in the South-East.
The witness further revealed that investigations linked these acts to directives from Kanu, including an instruction that a deceased ESN commander, Ikonso, be buried with 2,000 human heads. Although the target was not achieved, the DSS claimed that 30 human heads were eventually recovered in connection with the ritual.
The DSS witness read from publications of Vanguard newspaper reporting the confession of one Uzuoma Benjamin, alias “Onye Army”, a known ESN commander, who admitted to participating in brutal acts on Kanu’s orders.
According to the witness, Onye Army confessed to using the heads of 10 young girls to prepare charms and said Kanu gave explicit instructions for the group to attack and kill Nigerian security personnel. However, the witness said that when the DSS requested access to Onye Army after his arrest by the police, they were told the suspect had “escaped from custody.”
The DSS operative painted a dire picture of IPOB/ESN’s mode of operation. He described the group as a well-armed militant network, responsible for the deaths of between 170 and 200 security operatives, including DSS agents, police officers, and military personnel.
He said ESN operatives function like guerrilla fighters—mounting illegal roadblocks, hijacking vehicles for attacks, raiding homes of traditional rulers, and destroying public infrastructure, including police stations across the South-East.
The witness also linked the 2021 assassination of prominent politician and former presidential aide, Ahmed Gulak, to IPOB. Gulak was murdered in Owerri, Imo State, on May 30, 2021—a date that coincided with a “sit-at-home” order issued by Kanu through Radio Biafra.
The DSS operative, who served in Imo between 2019 and 2023, said Gulak was travelling in a cab to the airport when IPOB operatives stopped the vehicle at a fake checkpoint. After questioning the passengers’ ethnic identity, the attackers allegedly asked Gulak to speak Igbo. When he failed and was found to have a Muslim prayer mark on his forehead, he was shot dead.
The DSS official, who was one of the first responders, said Gulak’s corpse was evacuated in his own vehicle. He added that the Imo State Police Division confirmed IPOB’s involvement, contrary to later political claims suggesting the killing was orchestrated for political reasons.
Another major element of the testimony centered on Radio Biafra, which the DSS says was used by Kanu to spread secessionist propaganda and incite violence.
The witness detailed how Kanu allegedly smuggled a German-made FM radio transmitter into Nigeria without authorisation. The transmitter was discovered at a property in Ubuluisiuzor, Anambra State, and later assessed by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), which confirmed that no license had been issued for its importation or operation.
He noted that to operate a radio station in Nigeria, one must apply for a license through NBC, after undergoing clearance from relevant security agencies. “In this case, there was no application from the defendant. He brought in the transmitter illegally without approval,” DDD said.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, the DSS operative admitted that there was no formal documentation on how the transmitter was imported into Nigeria. However, he said DSS agents located it using technology to analyze a video in which Kanu showed the equipment to IPOB supporters.
He also confirmed that Kanu was arrested in Lagos in 2016 with some of his broadcasting equipment, though he wasn’t personally present at the arrest.
Regarding the container that held the transmitter, the witness said it was brought in by one Igwe Anyiba, who has since relocated abroad. He denied knowledge of clearing companies or individuals named Benka Clearing and Forwarding and Chief Isaac Maduka, said to be involved in the process.
He also clarified that two guns found during the investigation were not in the container but hidden under a mattress belonging to Benjamin Madubugu, who was later charged with unlawful possession of firearms.
Justice James Omotosho discharged the witness after his testimony and adjourned the case until June 19 for continuation of trial.
The case against Nnamdi Kanu continues to expose not only the depth of IPOB’s alleged violent operations but also the political sensitivities surrounding the group’s secessionist activities, raising national and international concerns about security, civil liberties, and justice in Nigeria.
