From Victor Osula, Abuja
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has struck out an appeal filed by convicted leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, in which he alleged multiple violations of his fundamental rights by the Federal Government.
A three-member panel of the appellate court, in a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday, held that Kanu’s complaints—ranging from alleged breaches of his human dignity to denial of medical care and freedom of religion—had been overtaken by events following his November 20 conviction and life sentence by the Federal High Court.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Boloukuromo Moses Ugo noted that Kanu’s counsel, Maxwell Opara, confirmed that the IPOB leader was no longer in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) but had since been moved to the Sokoto Correctional Centre, where he is currently serving his sentence.
In light of this, the court ruled that Kanu’s request to be transferred from DSS custody to Kuje prison had become academic and unenforceable.
Justice Ugo further observed that Kanu himself had previously stated a preference for being held in a correctional facility rather than DSS detention—making his current remand consistent with his own position.
The decision of the Court of Appeal effectively affirms the July 3 ruling by now-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 establish any violation.
Kanu had argued that his detention conditions under the DSS infringed on his constitutional rights.
However, the appellate court held that his conviction and subsequent relocation to a correctional facility rendered the suit moot.
Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, on November 20, convicted Kanu on a seven-count terrorism charge filed by the Federal Government after ruling that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
He was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment
