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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has asked to be transferred from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) to Kuje Correctional Facility in Abuja.
Addressing the court shortly after being denied bail on Tuesday, Kanu said there is a conspiracy for him to die in the custody of the DSS.
He told the court that he is suffering from cognitive heart disease and that the DSS facility is not well equipped to take care of him.
The IPOB leader pulled off his shirt in the courtroom to show the judge his ribs and chest, as evidence of the treatment he is receiving in DSS custody.
“People will come to see me, they would not allow them. They don’t have a medical facility. I have congestive heart failure. They are patching me up.
“My foot is swollen. I asked them to conduct surgery, and they said they couldn’t. There is a conspiracy to die in detention. I want to be transferred to Kuje,” he said.
But Justice Binta Nyako said she would keep Kanu where she deemed fit, adding that Kuje was out of it.
She noted that it is not uncommon for suspects to escape from Kuje prison as recent history shows.
Kanu, who was visibly upset, said he cannot proceed on trial without proper medical attention.
After his extradition in June 2020, the Federal Government filed terrorism charges against Kanu.
In April 2022, Nyako struck out eight of the 15 counts in the charge.The remaining seven counts were also quashed by the Court of Appeal on October 13, 2022, with the judge ordering Kanu’s release.
However, on October 28, 2022, the Court of Appeal granted a stay of execution of its judgement discharging Kanu, after the Federal Government filed an appeal at the Supreme cCourt.
A five-man panel of the apex court on December 15, 2023 reversed the Appeal Court judgement and ordered Kanu to resume his trial before the Federal High Court.
Moving a fresh bail application on February 26, 2024, one of Kanu’s lawyers, Aloy Ejimakor, said the health of the IPOB leader is seriously deteriorating.
Ejimakor added that his client is unable to adequately prepare for his defence in the custody of the DSS.
He said operatives of the DSS “eavesdrop” on confidential conversations between Kanu and his legal team.
However, prosecution counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) opposed the bail application.
He prayed the court to dismiss the application and order an accelerated hearing of the case.
Awomolo said the DSS has been giving Kanu proper care, adding that the IPOB leader has failed to show the court that he would not jump bail.