On Monday, the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled against Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), in his lawsuit seeking N1 billion in damages for alleged human rights violations.
Kanu had filed the suit against the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Department of State Services (DSS), claiming that his rights were violated while in detention.
Kanu’s lawsuit, marked FHC/CS/1633/2023, alleged that the DSS and its Director General had infringed on his right to a fair hearing by preventing his lawyers from having unrestricted access to him as he prepared for his defense in his criminal trial. He claimed that his communications with his legal team were tampered with and monitored unlawfully by DSS officials, violating his right to a fair trial.
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However, Justice James Omotosho dismissed Kanu’s claims, “stating that he failed to provide substantial and credible evidence to support his allegations.”
Omotosho ruled that Kanu could not prove the alleged violations of his rights by the DSS.
This decision contrasts with a previous ruling by Justice Benson Anya, who had found that the military’s invasion of Kanu’s residence in Isiama, Afaraukwu Ibeku, Abia State, on September 10, 2017, was “illegal and unconstitutional.”
Anya had ordered “the Nigerian government to issue an official letter of apology to Kanu, published in three national dailies, and to pay him N1 billion in damages.”