The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a N50 billion lawsuit filed by Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), against the Federal Government due to lack of diligent prosecution.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, in his ruling on Thursday, stated that the case was struck out because neither Kanu nor the Federal Government had legal representation present in court to proceed with the matter.
Justice Ekwo noted that during the previous hearing, Kanu was without a lawyer, although the government was represented. He also pointed out that the case had been adjourned three times previously for the same reason.
Consequently, with no legal representatives appearing to continue the case, the judge decided to strike it out.
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Kanu’s lawsuit against the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Attorney-General of the Federation alleged a violation of his rights, stemming from his claim of being kidnapped in Kenya and unlawfully brought back to Nigeria.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/462/2022, sought the court’s determination on the legality of his abduction and extraordinary rendition to Nigeria, referencing Article 12 (4) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article/Part 5 (a) of the African Charter’s principles and guidelines on countering terrorism.
Kanu also sought a ruling on whether he could be legally tried on counts 1 to 14 of the amended 15-count charge, given Section 15 of the Extradition Act, arguing that these charges differed from the reasons for his rendition.
In his original suit, Kanu sought 11 reliefs, including an order for his release from the Department of State Services (DSS) custody, a halt to his ongoing trial before Justice Binta Nyako in case FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015, and N100 million in compensation for the legal action.
However, the Federal Government and the AGF had filed a preliminary objection on June 27, 2022, requesting the dismissal of the suit as an abuse of court process.
They argued that Kanu had already filed a similar case in the Federal High Court in Umuahia (FHC/UM/CS/30/2022) involving the same parties, suggesting the Abuja court should not hear the matter again.
Earlier in the proceedings, Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, had informed the court of his intention to take over the case from Chief Mike Ozekhome, who had initially filed it on April 7, 2022.
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