The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Friday dismissed the appeal filed by the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, challenging the alleged violation of his fundamental rights by the Director General of the Department of State Services and the Attorney General of the Federation.
The appellate court held that the appeal had become academic following Kanu’s conviction and life imprisonment sentence by the Federal High Court in Abuja on November 20. A three member panel ruled that the issues raised in the suit were no longer justiciable since Kanu was no longer in the custody of the DSS.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Boloukuromo Ugo held that the alleged violations concerning medical care, dignity of the human person and freedom of religion could not be sustained because Kanu is now being held in a correctional facility. The court noted that Kanu’s counsel, Maxwell Opara, confirmed during proceedings that his client is currently detained at the Sokoto Correctional Centre, making his earlier request for transfer from DSS custody to Kuje prison irrelevant.
Justice Ugo also observed that Kanu had earlier indicated his preference for prison custody and that the reliefs sought in the suit had been overtaken by events following his lawful conviction and remand.
The appeal stemmed from a July 3 judgment of the Federal High Court delivered by retired Justice Taiwo Taiwo, which dismissed Kanu’s enforcement of fundamental rights suit for lack of evidence.
In the original suit filed in December 2021, Kanu alleged that his health deteriorated while in DSS custody and claimed that the medical personnel attending to him were unqualified. However, the DSS and the Attorney General of the Federation denied the claims.
The trial court ruled that Kanu failed to provide credible proof of torture, denial of religious freedom or inadequate medical care and consequently dismissed the suit. That decision has now been affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
