A Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled July 1 for the judgement in a N1 billion lawsuit brought by Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), against the Federal Government and the Department of State Services (DSS).
Justice James Omotosho fixed the date after Kanu’s counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, the FG’s lawyer, Mercy Akeredolu, and their counterpart with the DSS, A.M. Danlami, presented their arguments.
Kanu, through his lawyer, Ejimakor, filed the lawsuit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1633/2023 for the enforcement of his fundamental rights while in detention.
In the originating motion dated and filed on Dec. 4, 2023, the applicant sued the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN), the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), DSS, and its DG as 1st to 4th respondents respectively.
The suit was filed pursuant to Order II, Rules 1 & 2 of the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules 2009, among others.
At the resumed hearing, Ejimakor informed the court about the originating motion filed on Dec. 4, 2023.
He said he also submitted a further affidavit dated and filed on March 26 with six exhibits in response to 3rd and 4th respondents’ counter affidavits.
He mentioned filing additional further affidavits on April 22 in response to the additional counter affidavits filed by the 3rd and 4th respondents on April 18, and another on April 22 in response to the 1st and 2nd respondents’ counter affidavits filed on April 12.
Ejimakor, who adopted the documents, requested the court to grant their sought relief.
Akeredolu, representing the FRN and AGF, opposed Kanu’s application, stating they filed a counter affidavit on April 12 with one exhibit, along with a written address dated and filed on April 12.
She urged the court to dismiss the IPOB leader’s suit.
Similarly, Danlami, for the DSS and its DG, stated they filed a 15-paragraph counter affidavit on April 12, along with an exhibit.
They also filed a further counter affidavit on April 18, with two exhibits, praying the court to dismiss the suit for lacking merit.
After a proceeding that lasted till evening, Justice Omotosho adjourned the matter until July 1 for judgement.
In the motion, the detained IPOB leader sought eight reliefs, including a declaration that the respondents’ act of seizing and photocopying confidential legal documents brought to him at the detention facility by his lawyers amounted to a denial of his rights.
He also sought an order of injunction restraining the respondents from their act of forcibly seizing and photocopying confidential legal documents, among other reliefs.
In a counter affidavit dated and filed by the DSS on March 12, the security outfit denied the allegations levelled against it.
In the application, the DSS stated that “Nnamdi Kanu was in safe and secure custody, allowed access to family members and his legal team, and permitted to interact and consult with his lawyers without interference.”
The DSS also denied eavesdropping on confidential conversations and argued that the suit was an abuse of court process, as similar issues had been raised before Justice Binta Nyako, presiding over Kanu’s criminal trial.
