The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, dismissed a fundamental human rights suit instituted by Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, against the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The Lawsuit
Kanu had prayed for N1 billion against the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Department of State Services over alleged rights violations.
The suit, marked FHC/CS/1633/2023, averred that DSS and its DG enthroned such a situation where Kanu’s lawyers were not allowed unhindered interactions with him in view of preparation to defend the charge brought against him.
Justice Omotosho held that Kanu failed to provide credible evidence to establish his averments that his interactions with his lawyers were interfered with; that he was denied unhindered access to his lawyers; and that DSS officials eavesdropped on his conversations with his lawyers. According to the judge,
Kanu did not prove that his lawyers were stopped from taking notes in the course of the respective meetings, just as he did not prove the denial of a fair hearing. The suit was, therefore, dismissed for lack of merit.
Kanu’s Demands
The Kanu, through his counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, filed the suit under Order II, Rules 1 & 2 of the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules 2009.
It demanded from the court to compel the protection of his fundamental rights while in custody at the DSS.
He sought various declarations that the actions of the DSS are denying him of his rights, including –
forcible seizure and photocopying of confidential legal documents.
1. Restricting his lawyers from taking any notes at all during professional consultations
2. Monitoring eavesdropping on the confidential consultations of Kanu.
Kanu also prayed for an order of injunction to restrain the DSS from further continuing to commit such acts and N1 billion damages for mental, emotional, psychological, and other damages meted out to him.
Government’s view
The Federal Republic of Nigeria and the AGF, in a counter affidavit, asked the court to dismiss the suit, describing it as an abuse of court process.
The DSS, in its counter-affidavit sworn to by Yamuje Benye, a member of staff in the legal department of the DSS, on 12 March 2024, denied all the allegations.
The affidavit stated that Kanu was in a safe and secure custody and not in solitary confinement. The DSS, therefore, asserted that Kanu and his counsel normally have consultations and interact in a comfortable facility; hence, no justification to eavesdrop or record the proceedings.
According to him, the suit which Kanu filed is an abuse of court process, considering that such issues had earlier been argued before Justice Nyako, who is presiding over his criminal trial and has insisted that visits to Kanu are always to be supervised in accordance with best practices worldwide.
The decision of the court buttresses the difficulties in establishing violations of rights and succinctly lays before the public stringent measures in effect for high-profile detainees. Kanu’s suit dismissal reflects his stand of the judiciary on what sort of evidence is needed to prove a case of violation of rights within the detention framework.
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