On Monday, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, the primary attorney for Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, spoke about how the Department of State Services refused him and other lawyers access to their client twice.
According to him, the DSS sent back the attorneys on February 17 and 21 on the pretext that the officials who were supposed to see them were unavailable.
Kanu is on trial for suspected treason before Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
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In a statement headed ‘Update on our Department of State Services’s cancelled regular visit to our client,’ Ejiofor condemned the secret police’s actions as reprehensible and disobedient to a court order.
“We were at the DSS headquarters today (Monday) to monitor the court-ordered visit to our dear client, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, in accordance with our protocol,” he stated.
However, the DSS officials refused us access to our client for the second time since the last court appearance.
“This development is awful and condemnable, because no reasonable reason(s) for this violent defiance of a court order has been presented.”
Ejiofor noted that Justice Nyako’s ruling about routine visits to Kanu was unequivocal and explicit, stating that such visits should be done on Mondays and Thursdays between 2 and 4 p.m.
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He said, “During our visit to Onyendu last week Thursday, being February 17, 2022, in observance of this court sanctioned visit, the personnel of the DSS turned us back, insisting that the officials assigned to receive us were not available.
“The same flimsy reason was given today, February 21 2022, for denying us access to Onyendu in deliberate and flagrant disobedience to court orders.”
Ejiofor, however, called on the Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court to endorse the contempt charges filed against the DSS, saying failure to do so meant the court was taking sides with the DSS.
He said, “With the foregoing, if the Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, fails and/or refuses to endorse the relevant contempt forms filed against the Director-General of the DSS for the gross disobedience to positive orders of court, as he has done in the past, then, it will become obvious to the world that the Registrar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, is actively protecting the contemnors.
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“Orders of court must be obeyed to the letter and must not only be respected, but must be treated with sanctity. Sadly, this has become a joke taken too far!
“We, therefore, wish to use this medium to place the world on notice that the DSS should be held responsible should anything untoward happen to our client, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, during this period they are hoarding him from us.
“We shall continue to keep the world abreast of every unfolding event as the DSS continues to thread on this ignominious path.”
Meanwhile, Kanu’s family has raised fresh concerns over his safety.
His younger brother, Prince Emmanuel, told journalists that he was at the Abuja headquarters of the DSS where the IPOB leader is currently being detained, but was not allowed to see him.
Emma said he was no longer convinced that his brother was in good shape; hence, the DSS did not want to grant the family access to him.
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He posted on his Facebook page, “I have been denied access to see Mazi Nnamdi Kanu on two separate occasions at the Department of State Services headquarters in Abuja.
“It goes to show that his life is in grave danger. It remains the order of the court that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu must be seen twice weekly on Monday and Thursday.
“Why can’t I see him? Has he been killed or poisoned? There must be proof of life. We demand proof of life.”
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