Court rules on Nnamdi Kanu's lawsuit against DSS.

 

The Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled June 20 for the adoption of processes in the lawsuit brought by Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), against the Department of State Services (DSS). This decision was made by the court registrar due to the absence of Justice Binta Nyako, who was on an official assignment at the time.

The judge had previously cautioned the lawyers representing the DSS and Kanu on May 3, urging them not to disrupt the proceedings on the next adjourned date. However, the day's proceedings had been hindered by an oral application from DSS counsel Idowu Awo, who requested additional time to respond to a further affidavit served by Kanu's lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, in open court.

NAN reported that Kanu, through his legal team, had filed a lawsuit against the DSS and its Director General as the first and second respondents. The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2341/2022, sought the court's permission to apply for an order of mandamus compelling the DSS to grant Kanu unrestricted access to his medical doctor, among other requests.

Previously, on February 1, the court had granted Kanu permission to apply for an order of mandamus following an ex-parte motion presented by Ozekhome. In response, the DSS filed a preliminary objection, urging the court to dismiss the suit for lack of jurisdiction.

The DSS argued that there was a valid judgment from another court, delivered by Justice Taiwo Taiwo on June 3, 2022, in a separate suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/1585/2021) between Kanu and the DG of DSS and two others. In that judgment, the court extensively addressed the issue of granting the IPOB leader access to his personal physician. The DSS claimed that the current suit was similar to the previous one and noted that Kanu had already filed an appeal against the judgment.