The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed the appeal filed by the convicted leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, ruling that the case had become academic and lacking in merit following his conviction for terrorism offences.
The decision, delivered by a three-member panel of the appellate court, related to Kanu’s challenge against the July 3 judgment by retired Federal High Court Judge, Justice Taiwo Taiwo, who had earlier dismissed his fundamental rights enforcement suit for failure to prove allegations of rights violations.
The Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), the DSS, and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) were listed as respondents.
In the lead judgment, Justice Moses Ugo held that Kanu’s claims that his rights to human dignity, healthcare, and freedom of religion were being violated in DSS custody could no longer be entertained because he had since been convicted, sentenced to life imprisonment, and moved to prison custody.
Justice Ugo noted that, at the start of proceedings, Kanu’s lawyer confirmed that his client was now being held in Sokoto prison, making it impossible for the court to grant the request for his transfer to Kuje prison, which was the primary relief sought in the appeal.
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He further stated that Kanu had previously indicated a preference for prison custody over DSS detention, and since he has now been remanded in the very system he preferred, the court could not grant prayers overtaken by events.
Consequently, the appellate court ruled that the appeal had lost its practical relevance, rendering all issues raised merely academic, and therefore dismissed it.
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