A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Maxi Nnamdi Kanu, against the Federal Government and the Department of State Services (DSS).
In his judgment delivered on Monday, Justice James Omotosho held that Kanu failed to provide credible evidence to support his claims of fundamental rights violations by the defendants.
Kanu had alleged that DSS operatives denied him access to his lawyers and eavesdropped on their conversations.
However, these claims were not substantiated in court.
The IPOB leader, through his lawyer Aloy Ejimakor, had sued the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the DSS, and its Director-General.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1633/2023 and filed on December 4, 2023, sought eight reliefs, among these were declarations that the seizure and photocopying of confidential legal documents by the DSS amounted to a denial of his right to legal defense, and that preventing his counsel from taking notes during consultations was unlawful.
Kanu also sought an injunction to restrain the DSS from such actions and demanded N1 billion in damages for mental, emotional, and psychological harm.
In a counter affidavit filed on March 12, the DSS denied the allegations.
A staff from the legal department of the secret police, Yamuje Benye, stated that Kanu was in safe and secure custody, not in solitary confinement, and had unhindered access to his family and legal team on visiting days.
Benye argued that the DSS personnel never confiscated documents brought by Kanu’s lawyers and did not interfere with their professional duties.
He noted, “Applicant’s counsel are allowed moderate size notes or pads for the visit, but exchange of materials that promote the IPOB ideals were strongly resisted and refused.”
Justice Omotosho concluded that the allegations were unproven and dismissed the suit, aligning with the DSS’s assertion that the suit was an abuse of court process, as similar issues had been argued before Justice Binta Nyako, who presides over Kanu’s criminal trial.
