The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal filed by Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which challenged alleged violations of his fundamental rights by the Federal Government. The appeal, which included the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) as respondents, was struck out by a three-member panel of the court.
The court ruled that the appeal had become an academic exercise since Kanu had already been convicted and sentenced by the Federal High Court in Abuja. Justice Boloukuromo Ugo, delivering the lead judgment, noted that Kanu is currently serving his sentence at the Sokoto Correction Centre, making the request for his transfer from DSS custody to Kuje prison moot.
Additionally, the court highlighted that Kanu had previously expressed a preference for being in prison custody, and his current remand at the Sokoto facility fulfilled that preference. Therefore, the appeal was dismissed for lack of merit.
This appeal was in response to the July 3 judgment of Justice Taiwo Taiwo, which had earlier dismissed Kanu’s suit for the enforcement of his fundamental rights. On November 20, Kanu was convicted on multiple terrorism charges, with Justice James Omotosho ruling that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt, resulting in a life imprisonment sentence.
