DSS Denies Nnamdi Kanu Access To Legal Team

Nnamdi Kanu

The legal representatives of the embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, have accused the Department of State Services (DSS) of isolating him from all visitors, including his lawyers.

According to the legal team, this recent move by the DSS violates standing court orders that allow regular visits to the embattled leader.

Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, Kanu’s special counsel, issued a statement on Monday, outlining the DSS’s refusal to allow the legal team to meet with Kanu during their routine visitation to the DSS headquarters in Abuja.

The visit was part of a court-mandated schedule that permits Kanu’s lawyers and family members to check on his well-being.

“Today, 14th October 2024, in blatant violation of subsisting court orders, the Department of State Services (DSS) prevented Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s legal team from seeing him,” Ejimakor said.

“This marks the continuation of an unconstitutional trend, as no visitors have been allowed to see him since his last court appearance on 24th September 2024, during which Kanu demanded the recusal of Justice Binta Nyako from his case.”

Ejimakor noted that the DSS’s refusal to allow visitation coincided with the aftermath of Kanu’s successful recusal of Justice Nyako, a decision that was later reversed by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

He suggested that the DSS’s actions may be linked to Kanu’s legal victory, which has since been overturned.

The legal team has previously petitioned the Federal High Court to enforce compliance with the visitation orders, but these applications have yet to be scheduled for hearing. This prolonged delay has raised concerns that the DSS may be operating outside the bounds of the law.

“The DSS is acting as though it is above the law and beyond the reach of the Constitution and the Courts,” Ejimakor added.

“One of the key purposes of the court-ordered visitations is to ensure Mazi Kanu’s family and legal representatives have proof of his life and well-being. Now that all access has been blocked, we are left to wonder: What is the DSS hiding? Is Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in good health?”

Kanu’s legal team has urged the public and the court to take immediate action, as they continue to push for transparency in their client’s detention and treatment.