Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has rejected key pieces of evidence presented by the Federal Government in the ongoing terrorism trial of Biafra separatist leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
The court on Thursday ruled inadmissible Kanu’s statements dated October 21, 24, and November 4, 2015, which were made to operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) during interrogation. The accompanying video recordings of the statements were also thrown out.
The ruling followed a trial-within-trial ordered by the court to determine the voluntariness of the statements after Kanu alleged they were made under duress, coercion, and without legal representation.
While Justice Omotosho acknowledged that the video recordings showed a seemingly cordial interrogation environment and found no visible signs of coercion, he noted that Kanu consistently complained about being denied access to his lawyer during the sessions.
Citing Section 15 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), the judge stressed that any statement made by a suspect arrested without a warrant must be taken in the presence of their counsel, or in the absence of one, a representative from the Legal Aid Council or civil society.
He also referenced Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees the right to legal representation for any accused person.
“Even though the statements were recorded on video, the absence of the defendant’s lawyer renders them inadmissible,” Justice Omotosho ruled. “This court is empowered to expunge the video recordings already admitted. Having found the statements inadmissible, it follows that the videos are equally inadmissible.”
He consequently ordered the rejection of all the statements and video recordings submitted by the prosecution.
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