Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyers again accuse SSS of denying them access to him

The legal team of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has again accused the State Security Service (SSS) of blocking the team’s access to the IPOB leader.

Mr Kanu, who is facing terrorism charges, has been in detention since he was repatriated to Nigeria from Kenya in June 2021 under controversial circumstances.

Aloy Ejimakor, special counsel to Mr Kanu, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.

This is coming about two weeks after the legal team made a similar allegation against the SSS on 27 September.

Another denial of access

In the latest allegation, Mr Ejimakor said the SSS blocked Mr Kanu’s lawyers from seeing him when they visited the IPOB leader at the SSS facility in Abuja on Monday.

The special counsel stressed that the alleged action by the SSS violated the Nigerian Constitution and court orders which provided for the IPOB leader’s freedom to meet with his lawyers.

He said the secret police has not allowed them access to Mr Kanu since 24 September when the IPOB leader requested the withdrawal of Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja from his trial.

“It is now becoming increasingly clear that this latest unconstitutionality emanating from the SSS has a direct nexus to Mazi Kanu’s successful recusal of Justice Nyako, even as the recusal was subsequently vacated by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja,” Mr Ejimakor said.

The lawyer said, following the SSS’ violations of court orders on visiting Mr Kanu, he applied to the court to force the secret police to comply with the orders.

“But the applications have, to this day, not been scheduled for hearing,” he lamented.

“This anomaly leaves the uncanny impression that the DSS is above the law or even above the (Nigerian) Constitution and the courts.”

Fear over Nnamdi Kanu’s ill-health

Mr Ejimakor, in the Monday statement, reminded the SSS that one of the reasons for the court-ordered visitations was for Mr Kanu’s family and lawyers to monitor his ill-health.

“Thus, now that the SSS has totally blocked all access to Mazi Kanu, one might ask: What is the SSS hiding? Is Mazi Nnamdi Kanu hale and hearty?” he said.

SSS silent

PREMIUM TIMES could not immediately get a response from the SSS.

The secret police recently redeployed its spokesperson, Peter Afunanya, without announcing a replacement.

Background

Before now, SSS has prevented Mr Kanu’s lawyers from meeting with him.

The secret police, for instance, allegedly prevented some lawyers from seeing the IPOB leader in 2021. About a year later, the incident reoccurred in 2022.

Mr Kanu was first arrested in 2015 under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Court of Appeal, Abuja, on 13 October 2022, held that the IPOB leader was extraordinarily renditioned to Nigeria and that the action was a flagrant violation of the country’s extradition treaty and also a breach of his fundamental human rights.

The court, therefore, struck out the terrorism charges filed against Mr Kanu by the Nigerian government and ordered his release from the facility of the SSS.

But the government refused to release the IPOB leader, insisting that he (Kanu) could be unavailable in subsequent court proceedings if released and that his release would cause insecurity in the South-east, where he comes from.

The government, through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, later appealed the court ruling and subsequently obtained an order staying the execution of the court judgement at the Supreme Court.

Delivering judgement on the appeal on 15 December 2023, the Supreme Court reversed the acquittal granted to Mr Kanu by the lower court and consequently ordered continuation of his trial at the Federal High Court Abuja.