The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has accused the Nigerian government of presenting a fake Department of State Services (DSS) witness in the ongoing trial of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

In a statement released by IPOB's Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, the group alleged that the prosecution's key witness, identified as "PW3-CCC" during Wednesday's court proceedings, was "a lying mercenary" falsely presented as a DSS operative.

According to IPOB, the witness failed basic cross-examination questions about the DSS, including being unable to name the Assistant Director of Investigations, a key figure at the agency's headquarters.

"Today in court, the so-called prosecution suffered a devastating blow when its star witness, codenamed PW3-CCC, was thoroughly disgraced, dismantled, and exposed as a lying mercenary masquerading as a member of the DSS," Powerful stated.

The group further claimed the witness could not identify the location of the DSS's underground detention facility, allegedly used to detain high-profile individuals like activist Omoyele Sowore.

"This level of confusion and incompetence from a supposed federal witness only reinforces what we have said from day one: the Nigerian government is fabricating evidence, shopping for facts, and using mercenaries to sustain a crumbling case built on political vengeance, not law," the statement read.

Kanu, a British-Nigerian citizen leading IPOB's campaign for southeastern Nigeria's secession, was first arrested in 2015 on charges including treasonable felony. After being granted bail in 2017, he fled following a military raid on his home. He was controversially re-arrested in Kenya in 2021 and returned to Nigeria to continue his trial.

The legal process has faced numerous complications. In 2022, the Court of Appeal in Abuja discharged and acquitted Kanu, ruling his rendition violated local and international laws. However, the Nigerian government successfully appealed, with the Supreme Court overturning the acquittal in December 2023 and ordering the trial to continue.

IPOB praised its legal team, particularly Chief Paul Erokoro (SAN), for what Powerful described as "peeling back the mask of deception and exposing the truth" during the cross-examination.

"The world must act. The international community must speak out. Justice delayed is justice denied, and in this case, justice is being buried beneath a mountain of lies," the statement concluded, calling for international intervention in the case.