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Alleged Human Rights Breach: Court Dismisses Nnamdi Kanu’s Suit Against DSS

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3 years ago

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Nnamdi-Kanu
Nnamdi Kanu
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Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has dismissed a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, against the Department of State Services (DSS).

Delivering Judgement, Justice Omotosho held that Kanu’s suit lacked merit and ought to be dismissed.

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 torture 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.

Nnamdi Kanu had sued the Director General of DSS, DSS and the Attorney-General of the Federation.

In the suit, the IPOB leader alleged that the DSS subjected him to different inhuman treatments, including denying him of his rights to wear any clothes of his choice like the Igbo traditional attire called “Isi-Agu,” while in their facility or any time he appeared in court for his trial.

He alleged that the security outfit while allowing other inmates in their custody the freedom to choose and wear any clothes of their choice, he was restricted to wearing only a single cloth.

The applicant also accused the DSS of subjecting him to torture, breaching his right to dignity, among others.

He, therefore, sought an order directing the respondents to allow him put on any clothe of his choice while in the facility or when appearing in public, among other reliefs.

But in a counter affidavit filed by the DSS and its DG, they urged the court to dismissed Kanu’s claim.

They said that their operatives had did not and had never tortured Kanu either physically or mentally while in their custody.

According to the DSS, Kanu is kept in their facility where every other suspects are kept.

They said it was untrue that other suspects were allowed to put on any clothe of their choice, including Hausa and Yoruba traditional wears.

They said that the facility was not a recreational centre or traditional festival where Kanu and other suspects would be allowed to adore themselves in their respective traditional attires.

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.

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Judiciary

Court Disqualifies Uzodimma as APC Imo West Senatorial Candidate, Declares Okorocha Primary Winner

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1 day ago

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October 29, 2026

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Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma
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The Federal High Court in Abuja has disqualified Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, from presenting himself as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general elections, declaring former governor Rochas Okorocha the winner of the party’s May 18 primary election.

Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in his judgment delivered on Thursday, held that the evidence before the court established that Okorocha secured the majority of votes cast during the primary election conducted by the APC and monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Consequently, the court ordered Uzodimma to immediately cease presenting himself as the APC’s senatorial candidate for Imo West. It also directed the party to submit Okorocha’s name to INEC as its duly nominated candidate for the January 16, 2027 senatorial election.

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Judiciary

Wiretapping Allegation: Court Orders El-Rufai to Enter Defence

Published

4 days ago

on

October 26, 2026

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Former Kaduna State Governor,Nasir El -Rufai
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The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a no-case submission by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and ordered him to enter his defence, if he so wishes, in his ongoing trial over the alleged unlawful interception of telephone communications belonging to National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik gave the order on Monday while ruling on El-Rufai’s no-case submission, holding that the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence to warrant calling on the defendant to respond to the allegations.

The dismissal of the no-case submission means the court has found sufficient grounds for El-Rufai to be called upon to present his defence, although it does not amount to a determination of his guilt.

The judge subsequently adjourned the case until November 25 for the defence proceedings.

El-Rufai is standing trial over allegations of unlawfully intercepting Ribadu’s telephone communications, charges he is entitled to defend himself against as the case proceeds.

 

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Judiciary

Imo Court Targets January 2027 for Trial of Five Suspected Kidnappers

Published

1 week ago

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October 22, 2026

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Kidnap Suspects
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An Imo State High Court sitting in Owerri has called for an accelerated hearing of cases involving five suspected kidnappers, directing prosecution and defence counsel to cooperate with the court to ensure judgments are delivered before January 2027.

The presiding judge, Justice Emeka Orafu, made the appeal during proceedings involving three defendants accused of abducting prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and two others facing charges in a separate kidnapping case.

At the hearing, a Department of State Services (DSS) investigative officer, Ikem Emmanuel, testified on the investigation that led to the arrest of the three defendants in the NYSC-related case.

Emmanuel told the court that the investigation involved intelligence gathering, phone data analysis, record checks, interviews and statements obtained from the defendants, victims and witnesses.

He further disclosed that an identification parade was conducted, during which victims and witnesses allegedly identified the defendants as members of the criminal gang.

The DSS officer also told the court that one of the defendants, Usman Aliyu, admitted in his statement to participating in the operation and allegedly revealed that 11 persons were involved.

According to the witness, the defendants’ statements were obtained in the presence of their legal representatives and DSS legal officers.

In a separate proceeding involving two other defendants, Emmanuel also testified on the investigation, stating that their statements were equally taken in the presence of their lawyers and DSS legal officers.

Following the proceedings, Justice Orafu adjourned the cases to October 27, 28, 29 and 30 for continuation of hearings.

The judge reiterated the need for all counsel to work closely with the court to ensure the cases are determined expeditiously, with judgments delivered before January 2027.

The five defendants are to remain in DSS custody pending the continuation of proceedings.

The cases followed the abduction of 20 prospective corps members by gunmen on October 1, 2026, near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.

The victims were reportedly travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their assigned NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when they were abducted.

They and a civilian were rescued six days later from the Amakohia-Ubi forest in Owerri West Local Government Area.

The DSS subsequently arrested five suspects in intelligence-led operations conducted between October 10 and 14 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and Aba, Abia State.

The court proceedings are expected to continue later this month as the prosecution presents its evidence in the cases.

 

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