The leader of the Indeginous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has filed a lawsuit against the department of state services (DSS) for violating his human rights and disobeying a Federal High Court Abuja ruling that ordered the agency (DSS) to give Nnamdi Kanu access to high-quality medical care because of his serious health risk.
Keep in mind that the DSS, who claimed to have arrested Kanu from Kenya, brought him to Nigeria on June 29, 2021; shackled and blindfolded like a regular criminal. However, additional independent investigations revealed that Kanu was never legally extradited; rather, the DSS and Kenyan local forces secretly kidnapped Nnamdi Kanu, a British citizen with a British passport who was a temporary resident of Kenya, detained and tortured him for eight days before extraordinarily renditioning him to Nigeria and bringing him before the court.
Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s recent health issues may be related to the unimaginable torture he endured for days in Kenya. According to reports, Kanu has a mineral deficiency and serious heart complications that necessitate immediate medical attention. In light of this, the Abuja Federal High Court of Justice Binta Nyako ordered the DSS to allow Kanu’s personal doctor to access his medical history and administer his medications while he is still being prosecuted. However, the DSS turned down the offer and, as an alternative, prescribed Kanu medications from roadside pharmacies, which are said to have little to no effect on his recovery.
DSS have continued to reluctantly treat Kanu’s medication administration with immense contempt and recklessness, despite declining the court order and IPOB’s offer to send a professional doctor.
After their visits to the Abuja DSS detention facility, the IPOB lead counsel, Barr Ifeanyi Ejiofor, other lawyers, and Nnamdi Kanu’s siblings have frequently complained that Kanu was hardly given his medications or his usual food. The most recent occurred when the IPOB and Nnamdi Kanu’s special counsel, following his weekly visits to his client, came out to announce that the DSS had denied Kanu his medication for nine consecutive days and refused to feed him for an entire day.
Despite the fact that Kanu is said to have instructed his Chief of Counsel, Barr Mike Ozekhome, to sign a donation of one million naira to the DSS, the DSS stated that they lack the funds to continue covering Kanu’s medical and maintenance costs while he is in their custody.
This sparked outrage and strong feelings among many interested parties, who were perplexed as to how the Nigerian government could spend millions of dollars to kidnap Kanu from Kenya and then claim they are unable to feed him or take care of his medical needs. Many are asking why the Nigerian DSS has not taken care of Kanu’s vital needs while he is in their custody, despite the fact that the Nigerian Court and a number of well-known individuals and organizations in other parts of the world like the Acquittal Global and the Unified Countries working gathering have requested that Nigeria government discharge Nnamdi Kanu genuinely and remunerate him for abusing his basic freedoms?
The Nigerian government’s executive branch and the DSS have continued to illegally detain Kanu in disregard for justice despite the Supreme Court of Appeal’s ruling on October 13, 2022, that the charges brought against Nnamdi Kanu by the Nigerian state were completely frivolous and ordered Kanu’s immediate acquittal and release.
This has prompted the IPOB leader to sue the Nigerian State Secret Police through his legal representatives for disobedience to court orders and detention in violation of his rights, despite the fact that the court ruled that he was now free.
Enenienwite Ikechukwu authored this work for Family Writers Press International.