Court of Appeal dismisses Nnamdi Kanu’s fundamental rights case against DSS, AGF
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed the appeal filed by Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), challenging his detention by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).
The appellate court ruled that the case had become academic following Kanu’s conviction on terrorism charges and his subsequent life imprisonment sentence by a Federal High Court on November 20.
A three-judge panel, led by Justice Boloukuromo Ugo, found that Kanu’s claims—that his fundamental rights to human dignity, access to healthcare, and religious freedom were being violated, could no longer be entertained, given that he was now serving his sentence in Sokoto Prison.
The court noted that Kanu had previously indicated a preference for prison custody, making his request to be moved from DSS detention to Kuje Prison moot.
“The substance of this appeal has become academic,” Justice Ugo stated, referencing the confirmation by Kanu’s lawyer, Maxwell Opara, that his client was already in prison custody.
As a result, the appellate court concluded that it could not grant the relief sought.
Kanu’s appeal followed a July 3 judgment by the now-retired Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court, which dismissed Kanu’s fundamental rights enforcement suit on the grounds that he had failed to substantiate his claims.
The dismissal comes a week after the Federal High Court convicted Kanu on all seven terrorism-related charges, concluding a decade-long trial that has been a flashpoint in Nigeria’s South-East region.
Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment, describing him as an “international terrorist.”
With the appellate court’s decision, Kanu’s legal challenge against the DSS and the AGF regarding his detention has effectively ended, leaving his life sentence as the standing legal outcome.
