The legal team representing Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has raised serious concerns over his welfare, accusing the Department of State Services (DSS) of preventing all visitors, including his lawyers, from seeing him. According to the team, this move violates existing court orders that permit regular visits to Kanu during his detention.
Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, Kanu’s special counsel, released a statement on Monday, detailing the DSS’s refusal to allow a scheduled visit to Kanu at their headquarters in Abuja on October 14, 2024. Ejimakor emphasized that the court-mandated schedule allows Kanu’s lawyers and family to visit him regularly to monitor his well-being.
“This marks a continuation of an unconstitutional trend,” Ejimakor stated, adding that no one has been allowed to visit Kanu since his last court appearance on September 24, 2024. During that appearance, Kanu had successfully requested the recusal of Justice Binta Nyako from his case—a decision that was subsequently reversed by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The legal team suggests that the DSS’s refusal to permit visitation may be linked to the aftermath of this legal development. They have previously petitioned the Federal High Court to enforce compliance with the visitation orders, but the hearing of these applications has been delayed, further raising concerns that the DSS may be operating outside legal bounds.
Ejimakor highlighted the importance of these visits, which are meant to ensure Kanu’s family and legal team can verify his health and well-being. “Now that all access has been blocked, we are left to wonder: What is the DSS hiding? Is Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in good health?” he questioned.
Kanu’s legal team has called on the court and the public to act swiftly, urging transparency and accountability in their client’s detention and treatment.
