Appeal Court Strikes Out Nnamdi Kanu’s Rights Violation Suit Against DSS DG, Rules Appeal Academic Following Terrorism Conviction

The Court of Appeal in Abuja today, Friday, November 28, 2025, struck out the appeal filed by the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, which challenged alleged violations of his fundamental rights while he was in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS). The appellate court, in a unanimous decision, held that the appeal was without merit and had become academic following Kanu’s conviction and subsequent life imprisonment sentence for terrorism offences delivered by a Federal High Court on November 20, 2025.

The three-member panel, delivering the lead judgment through Justice Boloukuromo Moses Ugo, ruled that Kanu’s claims concerning breaches of his rights to human dignity, access to quality health care, and freedom of religion were no longer actionable.

The court noted that the matter had been overtaken by events because Kanu’s counsel confirmed during the proceedings that his client was no longer being held at the DSS facility but had been remanded in prison custody, specifically Sokoto Prison. Justice Ugo emphasized that since Kanu had earlier expressed a desire for transfer to prison custody, the court could no longer grant the prayers of his appeal, which largely focused on the conditions of his detention at the DSS facility and sought a transfer, given his current status as a convicted offender serving a life sentence in a correctional facility.

The appeal was lodged against the July 3 ruling of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had originally dismissed Kanu’s fundamental rights enforcement suit for failure to substantiate his claims against the Director-General of the DSS, the Department of State Services, and the Attorney-General of the Federation.