A certified true copy (CTC) of the death certificate of Ahmed Gulak, who was reportedly killed by members of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in 2021 for allegedly disobeying the group’s sit-at-home order, was tendered by the Federal Government’s witness, known as BBB, on Wednesday.
According to reports, alleged IPOB members assassinated Gulak, a former Special Adviser on Political Affairs to former President Goodluck Jonathan. This issue is at the heart of the ongoing trial of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu.
The death certificate was handed to Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja by BBB, who was protected for his protection and appeared as the second prosecution witness (PW-2).
This was done as Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), the attorney for the Federal Government, lead the evidence.
Awomolo told the court during the proceedings that he had a question for the witness even though PW-2 was supposed to be cross-examined.
“My lord, we would like to ask a question,” Awomolo said.
The judge let Awomolo to continue when Kanu Agabi (SAN), Kanu’s attorney, did not raise any objections.
Then, Awomolo questioned BBB about a prior statement he had made in which he mentioned Kanu’s radio appeal for a sit-at-home, which was purportedly the cause of Gulak’s demise.
He had taken part in some of the investigations that resulted in the discovery of Gulak’s death, according to BBB, which verified the statement.
BBB also produced a certificate confirming Gulak’s death, issued by the police on July 18, 2021. This document was presented in the courtroom as a certified true copy of the medical report detailing the circumstances surrounding Gulak’s death.
Upon seeing the document, Agabi, Kanu’s defense lawyer, confirmed that he had no objections to the admission of the certificate into evidence. Justice Omotosho subsequently admitted the document and marked it as Exhibit PWJ.
Awomolo then sought the court’s permission for the death certificate to be handed to the witness to read aloud in open court. BBB proceeded to read the content of the death certificate, which he said was issued by the Nigeria Police in Owerri, Imo State.
The certificate attested to the fact that in 2021, thugs purportedly affiliated with IPOB shot and killed Ahmed Gulak.
The next round of the trial began when Agabi started cross-examining the witness following BBB’s testimony.
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