Again, court dismisses Nnamdi Kanu’s suit against DSS

By Taiye Agbaje

A Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), against the Department of State Services (DSS).

Justice James Omotosho ruled that Kanu’s action lacked merit and should be dismissed.

Kanu sued the Director General of DSS, DSS, and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as first, second, and third respondents in the FHC/ABJ/CS/482/2022 complaint filed by his counsel.

In the petition, the IPOB leader claimed that the DSS subjected him to various inhumane treatment, including refusing him the right to wear any garments he wanted, such as the Igbo traditional attire known as “Isi-Agu,” while he was in their facility or when he appeared in court for his trial.

He claimed that, whereas other convicts in their custody were able to wear anything they wanted, he was only allowed to wear one clothing.

The applicant also accused the DSS of torturing him and violating his right to dignity.

As a result, he requested an order requiring the respondents to enable him to wear whatever attire he wanted while in the facility or when appearing in public, among other reliefs.

The DSS and its DG, on the other hand, asked the court to dismiss Kanu’s claim in a counteraffidavit.

They claimed that their operatives did not torture Kanu physically or emotionally while he was in their custody.

According to the DSS, the petitioner (Kanu) is being held in the same facility as every other suspect.

They denied that other suspects were allowed to wear anything they wanted, including traditional Hausa and Yoruba attire.

They claimed that the facility was not a recreation centre or a traditional festival where Kanu and the other accused may parade about in their traditional garb.

They claimed that its facilities have a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for personnel dress rules.

“That in line with global best practices, persons in the 1st and 2nd respondents’ facility are allowed to wear only plain clothes which do not bear symbols, writings, colours and insignias that are offensive to any religion, ethnic group or even the Nigeria state in general,” they said.

They accused Kanu’s family of bringing traditional attires and other clothings with Biafra insignias and pair of red shoes decorated with shinning beads for him to wear in custody and also to attend court for his trial.

According to DSS, the clothes have colours of the non-existing Biafra Republic, which is the subject matter of applicant’s criminal trial.

They said the Isi-Agu attire, popularly called a chieftaincy attire, was not a suitable dress for persons in detention facility and against its SOP.

They also argued that Justice Binta Nyako, where Kanu is currently standing trial, had directed that Kanu should be allowed to wear any plain clothe of his choice and that any thing contrary would contravene the court’s directive.

The DSS said they never breached his right to human dignity as alleged by the IPOB leader.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Omotosho held that right to human dignity is contained in Section 34 of the 1999 Constitution.

He said it was clear that a right to human dignity related to right against torture, inhuman treatment, among others.

The judge held that Kanu’s case did not relate to toture or forced labour as he was never tortured while in custody based on the evidence before the court.

He said a right to dignity was not a right to change clothes as inmate in a prison.

“The applicant cannot come to court to seek for rights which are not in the constitution,” he said.

Besides, Justice Omotosho held that Kanu failed to provide the photographs and names of inmates who were allowed to wear different attires while in custody.

He said the onus was on him to prove his case but the applicant merely rely on bare facts without any evidence.

He described the IPOB leader’s allegations as “an hypothesis without concrete evidence.”

The judge, consequently, dismissed the case for lacking in merit.

NAN reports that a retired judge of the court, Justice Taiwo Taiwo, had dismissed a similar suit brought by Kanu in 2022.

In the judgment Justice Taiwo held that Kanu had not provided sufficient evidence that his fundamental rights were infringed upon by the security outfit “as there is no proof of torture before the court.”

On Kanu’s right to practise his religion, the judge said that while the applicant (Kanu) had the constitutional right to practice his religion in custody, he agreed with the position of the respondent (DSS) that a suspect in custody cannot be allowed to practise his religion in such a way that would disturb the peace of other suspects in custody.

On the allegation that the IPOB leader was receiving inadequate treatments from DSS’ doctors whom he had referred to as quacks, Taiwo said that “the applicants fails to lead evidence by calling a medical practitioner to convince the court that based on the medical report, the treatment giving to Kanu is inadequate.”.

NAN