Despite the order of Justice Binta Nyako of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja that the Department of State Services should allow Nnamdi Kanu to have a change of clothes, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra yet again appeared in court on Wednesday with the same designer wears he wore when he was re-arrested and brought back to Nigeria in June 2021.
The PUNCH had earlier reported that Kanu’s lead counsel, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), on Tuesday drew the attention of the judge to the treatment his client was being subjected to in the custody of the DSS.
This is despite an earlier order by Justice Nyako in December 2021 that the secret police allow the IPOB leader to practise his faith, have his bath, change his clothes and eat properly.
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Justice Nyako on Tuesday reiterated the order and asked the secret police to allow Kanu some comfort in custody.
“I don’t want to see him in these clothes again. This one is almost off-white. Also, make sure that you allow him to exercise,” Nyako had said.
But the DSS flouted the order of the judge as the secret police produced Kanu in court on Wednesday clad in the same attire.
Kanu, 54, was born on September 25, 1967, at Afaraukwu, Abia State.
The secessionist leader is a holder of Nigerian and British passports. He had earlier jumped bail in June 2018 before leaving for the United Kingdom though he said that he fled because his life was no longer safe in Nigeria.
After about three years abroad, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), at a press briefing in Abuja on June 29, 2021, announced that the IPOB leader was re-arrested in a foreign country and extradited to Nigeria.
But one of Kanu’s lawyers, Ejiofor Ifeanyi, had said the IPOB leader was re-arrested in Kenya and whisked to Nigeria.
Upon his re-arrest and extradition in June 2021, he was re-arraigned before Justice Nyako for terrorism-related charges and has since been remanded in the DSS custody in Abuja.
Justice Nyako had on Tuesday adjourned the trial of Kanu to January 19, 2022 (today).
Details later…
Source: Punch