“Case Now Academic”: Appeal Court Dismisses Nnamdi Kanu Rights Violation Suit

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed a fundamental rights appeal filed by jailed IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, declaring the matter academic in light of his recent conviction and life sentence for terrorism.

Kanu had named the Director General of the Department of State Services and the Attorney General of the Federation as respondents, seeking an order to transfer him from DSS custody to Kuje Prison. But the three-member panel held that the request no longer had practical value since he is now serving his sentence at the Sokoto Correctional Centre.

Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Boloukuromo Ugo noted that Kanu’s counsel, Maxwell Opara, confirmed his client’s current detention in Sokoto. The court said this meant there was no basis to order a transfer to any other facility, especially since Kanu had earlier expressed a preference for being held in a regular correctional centre rather than with the DSS.

With the key issue overtaken by events, the court struck out the appeal for lacking merit, closing another route through which Kanu had sought to challenge alleged violations of his rights.

The ruling follows Kanu’s conviction on November 20 by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, who found him guilty on seven counts of terrorism and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Kanu had originally approached the Federal High Court accusing security agencies of unlawful arrest, extraordinary rendition, torture, and prolonged detention without proper access to his lawyers. That suit was dismissed by Justice Taiwo Taiwo on July 3, leading to the appeal now struck out by the appellate court.