On Thursday, the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed a N50 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit brought by Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), against the Federal Government regarding his abduction and extraordinary rendition from Kenya.
Justice Inyang Ekwo delivered the ruling, citing a lack of diligent prosecution as the reason for the dismissal.
When the case was called, neither Kanu’s legal team nor the counsel for the Federal Government was present in court. Justice Ekwo remarked, “The matter has suffered three adjournments without representation from the plaintiff. Even though the Federal Government was represented on the last adjourned date, the court cannot allow proceedings to drag endlessly without diligent prosecution,” before striking out the case.
The suit, recorded as FHC/ABJ/CS/462/2022, was filed by Kanu in April 2022. He named the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as the first and second defendants, respectively.
Kanu alleged that his rights were severely violated when he was reportedly abducted in Kenya and rendered to Nigeria without due legal process. Through the suit, Kanu sought a declaration that his rendition breached both international and domestic laws, specifically citing Article 12(4) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Section 15 of the Extradition Act, Cap E25, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
Additionally, he requested that the court determine whether he could be lawfully tried for offences beyond those for which he claimed he was illegally rendered, in relation to the amended 15-count criminal charge currently pending before Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Among the 11 reliefs sought by Kanu were: an order for his release from the custody of the State Security Services (SSS), a restraining order against the Federal Government from continuing his prosecution under charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015, and an award of N100 million as costs for the legal action, alongside N50 billion in damages for the alleged violation of his rights.
However, the Federal Government, in a preliminary objection filed on June 27, 2022, requested that the court dismiss the suit, describing it as “an abuse of court process,” pointing out that Kanu had previously filed a similar suit before the Federal High Court in Umuahia, Abia State.
The government argued, “The facts and parties in both suits are essentially the same. This renders the Abuja suit incompetent and robs the court of jurisdiction.”
In a related development during one of the earlier sittings, Kanu’s counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, informed the court of a pending notice of change of counsel, indicating that he would be taking over the case from Mike Ozekhome, SAN, who had filed the original suit.
