We Caught IPOB Members Eating Human Flesh, Says DSS
The federal high court in Abuja yesterday heard that members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing – the Eastern Security Network (ESN) – were once caught eating human flesh.
An official of the Department of State Services (DSS) said the group’s activities led to the killing of over 170 security agents in the Southeast.
He said during one of DSS’ agents’ raids of ESN’s hideout, they met them engaging in cannibalism.
“We saw some ESN members, about seven, with human heads and some eating human flesh, which they said was for spiritual fortification,” the witness said.
The DSS official was led in evidence by prosecuting lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), in the terrorism trial of IPOB leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. The witness also said the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) did not issue a license to Kanu to import the radio transmitter he allegedly smuggled into the country to operate Radio Biafra.
The fourth prosecution witness gave details of how the late former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Ahmed Gulak, was killed on May 30, 2021, in Owerri, the Imo State capital.
The witness said an NBC engineer confirmed that the German-made transmitter could only be procured and installed with a licence, which he said was never issued.
“There was no application from the defendant. He brought in the transmitter illegally without approval,” the witness said, adding that IPOB members contributed money for the purchase.
The witness said an ESN member, whom he identified as Uzuoma Benjamin, aka Onye Army, admitted receiving directives from Kanu to kill security agents and ensure that a deceased member of the group, Ikonso, was buried with 2,000 human heads.
The witness also read where they said Onye Army claimed that he and other members of his group used the heads of 10 girls to prepare charms for their protection.
He said the investigation revealed that the invasion of Owerri prison by IPOB members was directed by Kanu in one of his broadcasts, asking his followers to attack and kill security operatives.
The DSS official said further investigation revealed that the defendant, in his broadcast, directed that Ikonso should be buried with 2,000 heads, but that only 30 were obtained.
He said that when the DSS requested to access Onye Army, the police claimed he had fled.
“We could not find Onye Army. The police said he had escaped from custody,” the witness said.
[/b]
He said records on the number of security agents killed in the Southeast stand at between 170 and 200.
The witness said two DSS officials, including his driver, were among the victims, and that the killings cut across all security agencies.
On how the ESN members operate, the witness said they are combatants who carry arms and attack the homes of prominent individuals and traditional rulers in the region.
He said that because they lacked sufficient operational tools, they sometimes set up roadblocks to hijack vehicles for their operation.
The witness identified some public property which he said IPOB and ESN members attacked and destroyed in the Southeast, including police stations.