The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal filed by the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, challenging alleged violations of his fundamental human rights while in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS).
A three-member panel of the appellate court held that the appeal had no merit and had become academic, following Kanu’s conviction for terrorism-related offences by the Federal High Court on November 20.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Boloukuromo Ugo said Kanu’s complaints about denial of human dignity, access to quality medical care, and freedom of religion could no longer be considered, as he was no longer in pre-trial detention but now serving a sentence in a regular custodial facility.
Kanu’s lawyer had informed the court at the start of Friday’s proceedings that his client was currently being held at the Sokoto Custodial Centre, further rendering irrelevant his request to be transferred from the SSS facility to the Kuje Custodial Centre.
Justice Ugo noted that Kanu had previously expressed preference for being kept in a conventional correctional facility rather than SSS detention. With his conviction now finalized at the trial court, the judge said the appellate court could no longer revisit such requests.
The appeal arose from the July 3 judgment of retired Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which dismissed Kanu’s fundamental rights enforcement suit on the grounds that he failed to substantiate his claims. The Court of Appeal affirmed that decision in its entirety.
