Summary
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed the appeal filed by the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, who was convicted of terrorism, ruling that the case lacked merit and had become academic following his November 20 conviction by a Federal High Court.
A three-member panel of the appellate court held that Kanu’s claims that his fundamental rights to human dignity, right to quality health care, and religion were being violated during his detention in the Department of State Services (DSS) facility were no longer applicable since he is now a convicted person serving a life imprisonment sentence and has been transferred to prison custody.
In the lead judgment, Justice Boloukuromo Ugo stated that the appeal had lost relevance because Kanu’s lawyer, Maxwell Opara, confirmed in court that his client was currently being held in Sokoto prison. As a result, the request for an order relocating him from DSS custody to Kuje prison could no longer be considered, as the circumstances had changed.
Justice Ugo added that since Kanu had previously expressed a preference for being held in prison custody, the court could not grant the reliefs he was seeking, especially now that he has been convicted and placed in the same type of facility he had earlier requested.
The ruling relates to Kanu’s appeal challenging the July 3 decision by retired Federal High Court Judge Taiwo Taiwo, who had dismissed his fundamental rights enforcement suit on the grounds that he failed to substantiate his claims.
What you should know
This ruling marks another legal setback for Nnamdi Kanu, whose arguments about rights violations during detention were deemed irrelevant after his terrorism conviction and transfer to prison.
The Appeal Court’s position underscores that post-conviction circumstances have overtaken the claims he brought before the court.
