As Nnamdi Kanu’s case reopened on Thursday, July 13, a federal high court in Abuja dismissed a basic rights enforcement lawsuit that was brought by the incarcerated Nigerian separatist leader.
Kanu’s lawsuit against the Department of State Services (DSS) was dismissed by Justice James Omotosho, according to The Punch.
Kanu is the leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), an organization he started in 2012 and is pushing for the breakup of the Igbo ethnic group’s homeland, which occupies a region of southeast Nigeria.
According to Premium Times, Kanu sued Yusuf Magaji Bichi, the director general (DG) of the DSS, in a lawsuit that was brought by his attorneys.
In addition to Bichi, the Nigerian citizen who was born in the UK also sued the DSS and Abubakar Malami, a former AGF and minister of justice.
The IPOB commander said in the lawsuit that the DSS subjected him to a variety of cruel treatment, including torture and depriving him of his freedom to wear whatever clothing he pleased.
The DSS and its DG, however, asked the court to reject Kanu’s claim in a rebuttal affidavit.
Justice Omotosho, who gave the ruling, ruled that Section 34 of the 1999 Constitution contains the right to human dignity.
He asserted that it was obvious how a right to human dignity connected to other rights, such as the prohibition of torture and cruel treatment.
The judge ruled that the ability to change clothing while incarcerated was not a part of one’s right to dignity.
He said:
“The applicant cannot come to court to seek rights which are not in the constitution.”
Justice Omotosho, consequently, dismissed the case for lacking merit.