The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a ₦50 billion lawsuit filed by IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu against the Federal Government due to lack of diligent prosecution

[dropcap]A [/dropcap]₦50 billion lawsuit filed by Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), against the Federal Government has been struck out by the Federal High Court in Abuja.

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Justice Inyang Ekwo, delivering the ruling on Thursday, stated that the case was dismissed due to the apparent lack of diligent follow-up by the plaintiff.

During the court proceedings on Thursday, neither a legal representative for Nnamdi Kanu nor a lawyer representing the Federal Government was present in court.

Justice Ekwo pointed out that at the previous hearing, while the Federal Government had legal representation, Nnamdi Kanu was without a lawyer to represent his interests.

The judge further noted that the case had already been adjourned on three previous occasions for the same reason – the absence of legal representation for the plaintiff.

Given the repeated failure of either Kanu or his legal team to appear in court to progress the matter, Justice Ekwo concluded that there was no basis to continue with the case and consequently ordered it to be struck out.

Nnamdi Kanu had initiated the lawsuit against the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Attorney-General of the Federation, alleging a violation of his fundamental rights.

The suit, bearing the case number FHC/ABJ/CS/462/2022, was filed following Kanu’s claims that he was unlawfully kidnapped in Kenya and subsequently extraordinarily renditioned back to Nigeria to face trial.

In his originating application, Kanu had sought a determination from the court on “whether the way and manner in which the plaintiff was abducted in Kenya and extraordinarily renditioned to Nigeria is consistent with extant laws.”

He specifically cited “the provisions of Article 12 (4) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act Cap A9 laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and Article/Part 5 (a) of the African Charter’s principles and guidelines on human and peoples’ rights while countering terrorism in Africa.”

Furthermore, Kanu had requested the court to rule on “whether by the operation of Section 15 of the Extradition Act Cap E25, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, the plaintiff can be competently/legally tried for offences stated in counts 1 to 14 of the 15-count amended charge.”

He argued that these charges were not the same as the offences for which he was purportedly extradited or brought back to Nigeria.

In his initial suit, Nnamdi Kanu had sought a total of eleven reliefs from the court. These included an order for his immediate release from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) and an injunction restraining the government from continuing his trial in the ongoing criminal case, FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015, before Justice Binta Nyako.

Additionally, Kanu had sought monetary compensation to the tune of ₦100 million “as the cost of this action.”

However, in a notice of preliminary objection filed on June 27th, 2022, the Federal Government and the Attorney-General of the Federation had urged the court to dismiss Kanu’s suit, labelling it “an abuse of court process.”

They argued that Nnamdi Kanu had already filed a similar case before the Federal High Court in Umuahia, marked FHC/UM/CS/30/2022, involving the same parties and raising essentially the same issues.

This, they contended, meant that the Federal High Court in Abuja should not entertain the matter again.

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It is worth noting that earlier in the proceedings of the Abuja suit, Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, had informed the court that he had filed a notice to formally take over legal representation from Chief Mike Ozekhome, who had originally filed the lawsuit on behalf of Nnamdi Kanu on April 7th, 2022.