The lawyer to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra ( IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu has lamented that his client is still suffering in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) despite the order of a court.
Ifeanyi Ejiofor said that the DSS refused to obey the court order granting Nnamdi Kanu maximum comfort in detention, change of clothing, amongst others.
The lawyer, in a statement on Tuesday, said that the detaining agency has “unrepentantly continued to treat the orders of the court with greatest disdain.”
Justice Binta Nyako of a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered on December 2, 2021 that the secessionist leader should not be discriminated against in the custody of the secret police.
The presiding judge had also ordered that Kanu be given maximum comfort possible in detention, be allowed a change of clothing, be allowed free practice of his Jewish faith including access to his Jewish religious materials, allowed to receive any visitor of his choice, and allowed to mingle freely with other inmates in DSS custody.
READ ALSO: Court Adjourns Trial Of Nnamdi Kanu
Justice Nyako also adjourned the trial of Kanu till January 18, 2022, after granting a motion for an abridgement of time.
But Ejiofor said he visited Kanu in DSS custody on Monday, and found out that the DSS flouted and ignored the court orders.
The statement was titled, ‘Update On Today’s Visit To Our Indefatigable Client – Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu At The Headquarters Of The Department Of State Services (DSS) Abuja’.
He wrote: “We were informed by our client – Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu that none of the pronouncements made by the Court on the 2nd of December 2021 has been obeyed by the lawless DSS. They have unrepentantly continued to treat the orders of the court with the greatest disdain.
“Our client – Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu further informed us that he had not eaten anything since Sunday, apparently being punished because we dared to complain to the court about the harsh condition under which he is being held in custody. But, very, unfortunately, this should be the height of their reckless affront to the orders of court.
“At the time Her Lordship made these far-reaching orders in open court, I did not mince words in bringing to the attention of the court that the operatives of the DSS will flout these orders, pursuant to which the court specifically directed me to come back to her with these facts if her order is flouted by the detaining authority.”
He said the legal team of the IPOB leader would be approaching the court immediately with the development, which he described as “totally unacceptable, grossly condemnable, and intolerable.”
Ejiofor insisted that Kanu had not been convicted of committing any crime and he was still presumed innocent of every allegation against him.
“The detaining authority (DSS) is an agency clearly established by instrumentality of the laws and should operate within the confines of the same laws establishing them, and should not be seen as a lawless entity, which unfortunately is what they represent in practice,” he said.
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