The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed a fundamental rights appeal filed by Nnamdi Kanu, the convicted leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), declaring the case “academic” following his recent terrorism conviction and life sentence.
A three-member panel of the court ruled on Friday that the appeal had become pointless since Kanu is now serving his sentence in a correctional centre, nullifying the core request of his suit.
Kanu had originally sued the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), alleging illegal arrest, rendition, and torture. A key demand was his transfer from DSS custody to a conventional prison.
However, delivering the lead judgment, Justice Boloukuromo Ugo noted that Kanu’s lawyer, Maxwell Opara, confirmed his client is now held at the Sokoto Correctional Centre.
The judge stated that since Kanu is already in a prison facilityβaligning with his stated preferenceβthe court could no longer rule on a request that had been overtaken by events.
This ruling effectively shuts down one of the legal avenues Kanu was using to challenge the conditions of his detention.
The dismissal comes just a week after Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court convicted Kanu on a seven-count terrorism charge and sentenced him to life imprisonment on November 20.
This prior conviction was the central reason the Appeal Court deemed the rights violation appeal “academic.”
Kanu’s initial fundamental rights suit was dismissed by Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court on July 3, leading to the now-rejected appeal.
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