Court dismisses Kanu’s rights violation case

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal filed by detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, accusing the Director General of the Department of State Services, the DSS, and the Attorney General of the Federation of violating his fundamental rights.

The appellate court ruled that the matter has become academic following Kanu’s conviction and life sentence delivered on November 20 by a Federal High Court.

In its decision on Friday, a three-member panel held that the reliefs sought by Kanu were no longer legally enforceable because he is no longer in DSS custody, where the alleged violations occurred.

According to the panel, the change in his detention status fundamentally alters the nature of the dispute and prevents the court from granting any of the remedies he requested.

Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Boloukuromo Moses Ugo explained that the court was guided by a confirmation from Kanu’s counsel, Maxwell Opara, that he is currently being held at the Sokoto Correctional Facility.

Justice Ugo noted that, with his conviction now in effect, the appellate court cannot order Kanu’s transfer to Kuje prison—the relocation he originally sought—because such a directive only applies to those in pre-trial or security custody, not inmates serving a judicial sentence.

Justice Ugo further stated that since Kanu had previously expressed a preference for being moved from DSS detention to a conventional correctional centre, the court considered that preference already satisfied by his relocation to Sokoto Prison after his sentencing.

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This, he added, made the appeal effectively overtaken by events.

The ruling concerns Kanu’s challenge to the July 3 decision of now-retired Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court, who had dismissed his fundamental rights enforcement suit on the grounds that he failed to prove that the DSS violated his rights to dignity, healthcare, and religious freedom. The Court of Appeal affirmed that earlier ruling.

The appellate court held that, crucially, the law does not oblige a court to issue orders that no longer have practical effect, especially where circumstances have changed so significantly that the dispute itself has dissolved.

In this case, Kanu’s transition from DSS detention to prison custody rendered his allegations incapable of being remedied through the appeal.

Respondents in the matter included the DSS Director General, the DSS itself, and the Attorney General of the Federation.

The judgment marks another legal setback for Kanu, whose conviction on terrorism-related charges continues to generate significant public and legal debate. More updates are expected as details of the ruling emerge.

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