…Appeal Court reserves judgment

The Department of State Services (DSS) has faulted the claim by detained self-acclaimed leader of the separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, that he was denied adequate medical attention and subjected to the care of quack doctors.

DSS’ lawyer, I. Awo, argued that contrary to the claim by Kanu, who is currently being held in the agency’s custody, he has never been attended to by a quack doctor at the facility of the DSS.

Awo spoke on Wednesday at the hearing of an appeal filed by Kanu before the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

The lawyer, who represented the DSS and its Director General, told the court that the appellant is currently undergoing trial for terrorism related offences, where the issue of his access to adequate medical attention has also featured.

Awo urged the court to dismiss the appeal for lack of merit.

Lawyer to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), T. Agber, equally urged the court to dismiss the appeal and affirm the earlier decision of the trial court.

Appellant’s lawyer, Maxwell Opara, told the court that the appeal, marked: CA/ABJ/CV/813/2022, is against the June 3, 2022, by Justice Taiwo Taiwo (now retired) of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Opara said the appeal challenged the failure by Justice Taiwo to allow parties to call oral evidence in view of the dispute over whether or not his client was subjected to the attention of quack doctors by the DSS.

He said, “What we are saying is that this issue has to do with somebody’s right to life.

“The respondents brought in a quack doctor to examine the appellant despite his insistence that he should be before qualified medical experts.

“The respondents denied. We said there was a conflict, which would have required us to call oral evidence, but which the trial court rejected,” he said.

Opara prayed the court to promptly determine the appeal, “because the life of an individual is involved.”

He urged the court to set aside the decision by Justice Taiwo.

After listening to the lawyers’ submissions, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, presided over by Justice Boloukuromo Ugo, said judgment in the appeal is reserved till a date to be communicated to the parties.

Other members of the panel were Justices Okon Abang and Oyejoju Oyewumi.

Kanu had, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1585/2021, claimed, among others, that his health was deteriorating in the DSS custody, and that the medical personnel assigned to attend to him by the DSS were unqualified.

He also claimed that the DSS denied him the right to practice his religion.

In his June 3, 2022 judgment, Justice Taiwo dismissed Kanu’s fundamental rights enforcement suit because it was without merit.

Justice Taiwo noted that Kanu failed to provide sufficient evidence that his fundamental rights were infringed upon by the DSS “as there is no proof of torture before the court.”

On Kanu’s right to practise his religion, the judge was of the view that while he has the constitutional right to practice his religion, as a suspect in custody, he cannot be allowed to practise his religion in such a way that would disturb the peace of other suspects in custody.

The judge further held that Kanu failed to lead evidence by calling a medical practitioner to convince the court that he was denied adequate medical attention from experts. (The Nation)