The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed the appeal filed by the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, ruling that it lacked merit and had become academic following his recent conviction for terrorism offences.
A three-member panel of the appellate court held that Kanu’s claims alleging violations of his fundamental rights to human dignity, access to quality healthcare, and freedom of religion due to his continued detention by the Department of State Services (DSS) were no longer sustainable in light of his conviction, life sentence, and subsequent transfer to prison custody.
In the lead judgment, Justice Boloukuromo Ugo noted that Kanu’s counsel, Maxwell Opara, confirmed during proceedings that his client was now being held at Sokoto prison. As a result, the court said it could no longer consider his request to be transferred to Kuje prison from DSS detention, rendering the appeal purely academic.
Justice Ugo added that since Kanu had previously insisted on being moved to prison custody, the court could no longer order such relief after he had already been convicted and sent to the very facility he preferred.
The appeal challenged a July 3 ruling by then-Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja, who dismissed Kanu’s fundamental rights enforcement suit for failing to prove his allegations.
The appellate decision comes one week after the Federal High Court convicted the separatist leader of terrorism, bringing an end to a decade-long trial that has fuelled tensions across Nigeria’s South-East. Justice James Omotosho sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment on terrorism charges.
