A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday heard chilling revelations about the murder of former presidential aide, Ahmed Gulak, in Imo State and the gruesome activities allegedly carried out by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
A prosecution witness and official of the Department of State Services (DSS) told the court that Gulak was murdered on May 30, 2021, by suspected IPOB militants who mounted an illegal checkpoint on the day a sit-at-home order was declared by the group’s detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
The DSS operative, who testified as the fourth prosecution witness in Kanu’s ongoing terrorism trial, said he was among the first responders to the crime scene and that Gulak’s body was evacuated using his vehicle.
According to the witness, Gulak was travelling in a hired cab en route to the Sam Mbakwe Airport in Owerri when the vehicle was diverted due to an Air Force blockade. While taking an alternative route, the vehicle reportedly ran into a checkpoint mounted by IPOB members.
The driver, who survived the incident, was said to have told security agents that the attackers asked all occupants to disembark and identify their tribes. While the driver, an Igbo man, could speak the language, Gulak reportedly could not, raising suspicion among the assailants.
The DSS witness testified that one of the IPOB members spotted a Muslim prayer mark on Gulak’s forehead and exclaimed, “He is one of them,” before shooting him dead on the spot.
Beyond Gulak’s killing, the court also heard horrifying accounts of how IPOB and ESN members allegedly engaged in ritualistic killings and cannibalism.
The DSS operative testified that a detained ESN member, Uzuoma Benjamin, also known as “Onye Army,” confessed that the group planned to bury their slain commander, Ikonso, with 2,000 human heads as part of a spiritual fortification ritual. Only 30 were reportedly obtained.
Onye Army allegedly admitted that the heads of 10 young girls were used to prepare charms for protection, and during a DSS raid, operatives encountered seven ESN members in possession of human heads and eating human flesh.
The witness added that security operatives were unable to interrogate Onye Army further because the police later claimed he had escaped from custody.
In a separate testimony, the DSS official alleged that Kanu illegally imported a German-made FM transmitter used to broadcast Radio Biafra without obtaining a licence from the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).
He said the transmitter was recovered from a property in Ubuluisiuzor, Anambra State, belonging to one Benjamin Madubugu and was later transported to the DSS headquarters in Abuja.
An NBC engineer, who was invited to inspect the equipment, reportedly confirmed in a 2015 assessment report that the transmitter was unauthorized and illegally acquired.
The witness told the court that investigations confirmed that no application or approval was made by Kanu or his group to legally operate the station in Nigeria.
According to the DSS, Kanu returned to Nigeria and personally inspected the transmitter, filming a video to assure his followers that the equipment, funded by IPOB supporters, had been successfully procured.
The DSS officer also revealed that IPOB and ESN activities between 2020 and 2023 led to the deaths of between 170 and 200 security personnel across the South-East.
“These figures cut across all security agencies,” he said, adding that two of his own colleagues, including his driver, were killed in the violence.
He further testified that IPOB militants frequently set up illegal roadblocks, hijacked vehicles, and launched attacks on the homes of prominent individuals and traditional rulers. Several police stations and government facilities were also reportedly destroyed.
Under cross-examination by Kanu’s defence counsel, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), the witness admitted that there was no formal documentation of how or when the transmitter was imported into the country.
He also confirmed that while he did not witness Kanu’s 2016 arrest in Lagos, he was informed that the IPOB leader was found in possession of broadcasting equipment at the time.
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