Biafra: Kanu’s Fundamental Rights Suit Suffers Setback 

Alex Enumah in Abuja
Hearing in the civil action on alleged fundamental rights violation brought against the federal government at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice by the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, was yesterday stalled due to the absence of the government lawyer in court.

The lead counsel to the Nigerian government, Mr. Dayo Apata, was reportedly having a meeting with the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo and subsequently unable to make it to the court session.

The applicant, Kanu had approached the court through his lawyer, Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, with a motion against the Nigerian government on alleged violation of his rights and demanded an order of the ECOWAS Court for compensation of the sum of $800million as damages for the alleged violation.

 The matter had been adjourned for hearing of the substantive suit and inclusion of fresh motions by Ejiofor for yesterday, but was further adjourned following the inability of the government counsel to attend the hearing.
A counsel representing the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) at the court, Abdullahi Abubakar asked for stand-down of the case which the court granted to enable government lawyer to be present in court.
Abubakar’s request was predicated on the grounds that the Nigerian government lawyer was at the Supreme Court for a different matter and asked for a short postponement of the hearing.

Following Abubakar’s application,  the case was stood down for two hours.
However, when the court resumed session on the matter,  Abubakar again approached the court with another request for an adjournment on the ground that the government lawyer,  Dayo Apata, who is also the Solicitor-General of the Federation, was having a meeting with the vice president.

Abubakar further told the court that his team had not gotten some of the documents from a previous ruling in the ECOWAS Court.
Responding however, Ejiofor accused the Nigerian government of ‘deliberately delaying the matter’.
Ejiofor asked the court to compel the respondent to pay a cost of N2million for what he described as deliberate frustration of the matter.

Reacting to the submission of Ejiofor, Abubakar said the previous adjournment on the matter was not at the instance of the government but based on a request from the court.
The three-member panel led by Justice Hemeye Mahdmadane consented to the submissions of Abubakar regarding the facts resulting in the last adjournment.

The court also adjourned the matter till November 21, for hearing of all the applications and determination of Ejiofor’s motion for award of cost against the respondents.
Reacting to questions from journalists as to the reason for his client’s absence in court, Ejiofor reiterated his earlier stance that ‘only the Nigerian army can speak on Kanu’s current location.
“The military and federal government are in a position to tell me where my client is. We are going to settle it in court,” he said.

Kanu has not been seen in public,  since September 14, after Ejiofor accused the Nigerian army of invading his client’s residence and ‘possibly killing or abducting Kanu’.
Kanu is facing trial for alleged treasonable offenses.
His group, the IPOB has been proscribed and declared as a terrorist group by the Federal High Court.