The Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled June 20 as the date for the adoption of processes in the lawsuit filed by Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), against the Department of State Services (DSS). This decision was made by the court registrar in the absence of Justice Binta Nyako, who was on an official assignment.
Justice Nyako had previously warned the lawyers representing the DSS and Kanu on May 3 not to disrupt the proceedings on the next adjourned date. This warning came after the day's proceedings were halted due to an oral application made by the DSS counsel, Idowu Awo. Awo had requested more time to respond to a further affidavit served by Kanu's lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, in the open court.
NAN (News Agency of Nigeria) reported that Kanu, along with his legal team, had filed a lawsuit against the DSS and its Director General, naming them as the first and second respondents. In the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2341/2022, Kanu sought the court's permission to apply for an order of mandamus, compelling the DSS to grant him unrestricted access to his medical doctor and other requests.
On February 1, the court granted Kanu permission to apply for an order of mandamus after an ex-parte motion presented by Ozekhome. However, the DSS filed a preliminary objection, arguing that the suit should be dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction. They cited a previous judgment by Justice Taiwo Taiwo on June 3, 2022, in a related case (suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1585/2021), where the issue of granting Kanu access to his personal physician was extensively addressed. The DSS claimed that the current suit mirrored the earlier one, and Kanu had already filed an appeal against that judgment.
