Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Igbo youths under the auspices of Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, have warned the Department of State Services, DSS, to ensure no harm befalls the detained Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who has been in its custody since his rendition from Kenya since June 2021.
Kanu has remained in DSS custody at the Abuja headquarters of the Secret Police since he was renditioned from Kenya in June, 2021.
COSEYL which was reacting to the alarm by Kanu’s lawyer that his health condition was deteriorating, warned that Nigeria would not be able to manage the ripple effects of Kanu’s death in detention.
Kanu’s lawyer, Mr Ifeanyi Ejimakor, said that Kanu’s health was deteriorating following the refusal of the DSS to allow him access to his private physicians.
COSEYL wondered why the DSS has continued to hold Kanu based on court order but refused to allow him access to his physicians despite a court order to that effect.
The Igbo group maintained that Kanu did nothing to warrant being treated as a criminal.
COSEYL in a statement by its President General, Goodluck Ibem, said that the death of Kanu in detention should be avoided at all costs because of the grave implications.
The statement made available to Ikengaonline read in part: “We are enraged over the blatant disregard of court order by the Department of State Services, DSS, that gave the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, permission to see his medical doctors for medication anytime without any hindrance.
“It was brought to the notice of Igbo youths leaders by his legal team that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is currently suffering from gastrointestinal illness, which necessitates and requires that he sees his doctor often for proper medication as ordered by the court of law. It is worrisome that he is not even allowed to use mere antacids to reduce the pains as prescribed by his physician.
“It is very alarming that the DSS that is a creation of the law that derives her powers from the law, will so blatantly disobey a court order. If the DSS has no regard and respect for court orders, from where did it derive its powers to detain him? Are they trying to tell Nigerians that they are detaining him without the order of the court?
“We are asking this pertinent questions because the actions of DSS to disobey court orders goes a long way to tell us that they are detaining Nnamdi Kanu by their own order and not by the order of the court. The DSS has no right or powers to determine which court order to obey and the ones not to obey. They are mandated by law to obey all court orders.
“Maybe we need to remind the DSS that we are in a democratic system of government where peoples’ fundamental human rights and privileges must be respected to the letter. The intentional disobedience of court orders by DSS is an insult to our hard earned democracy and we demand that it must stop forthwith.
“We call on the DSS to immediately allow Mazi Nnamdi Kanu free access to his medical doctors and family members as directed by the court. The actions of the DSS is putting our hard earned democracy in great danger.”
COSEYL accused the DSS of teaching Nigerians how to flout court orders, warning it of the inherent dangers.
“The DSS is teaching Nigerians on how to disobey the law and court orders. If all Nigerians start disobeying the law and court orders like the DSS is teaching Nigerians to do, anarchy will set in and there will be no country to call our own.”
