Despite Court Order, DSS Blocks Nnamdi Kanu’s Legal Team, Family From Visiting
Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS), on Wednesday, denied access to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, preventing his legal team and family members from meeting him during their routine visit.
Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, Kanu’s lead counsel, disclosed this in a post on his X page on Wednesday following the attempted visit in Abuja.
According to Ejimakor, the legal team, accompanied by some of Kanu’s family members and a former Abia State House of Assembly member, was barred from seeing the IPOB leader at the DSS facility.
He wrote, “ALERT/UPDATE: Today, the DSS arbitrarily refused us (the Legal Team), an ex-member of Abia State House of Assembly & the family of MAZI NNAMDI KANU from having a visitation with him.
“This flagrant violation of the Nigerian Constitution and a subsisting Court order will not stand.”
In 2024, Ejimakor repeatedly raised concerns over the DSS’ alleged continued disobedience of court orders in Kanu’s case by denying his legal team access to him.
On November 1, 2024, it reported that Ejimakor accused the DSS of deliberately violating a court ruling that permitted Kanu to meet with his lawyers. In response, he vowed to resume all suspended legal actions to enforce compliance with the order.
However, on November 11, 2024, nearly two months after restricting Kanu’s access to his legal team, the DSS finally allowed a meeting following directives from its Director General, Mr. Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi.
Despite this, Ejimakor stated on Wednesday that the DSS has resumed its flagrant disregard for the Nigerian Constitution and the subsisting court order granting Kanu access to his legal team, family, and other visitors. He vowed that such actions would not stand.
He further revealed that access was denied despite submitting a visitation request to the DSS on Tuesday ahead of their scheduled Wednesday visit.
