Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has, on Thursday, dismissed a fundamental rights violation suit filed by the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, against the Department of State Services (DSS).
In the suit, file number FHC/ABJ/CS/482/2022, with the DSS Director General and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as co-defendants, Kanu had alleged that his rights were violated by the agency.
He also claimed that he was subjected to different inhuman treatments including denial of right to wear clothes of his choice such as the Igbo traditional attire called “Isi-Agu,” while in DSS facility or when he appeared in court for trial.
He further alleged that DSS operatives allowed other detainees to choose and wear clothes of their choice, but restricted him to wearing just one set of clothes as he had always appeared in court with the same clothes.
Ruling, Justice Omotosho held that the suit lacked merit because Kanu failed to prove the allegation that DSS violated his rights.
The judge admitted that the right to human dignity is enshrined in Section 34 of the Constitution, including right to human dignity which declared torture and other inhuman treatment illegal, but that such right to dignity did not include the right to change clothes as an inmate in a prison.
However, he noted that Kanu’s case did not relate to torture or forced labour while in custody and that no evidence before the court indicated as such.
Justice Omotosho held that the applicant failed to provide the photographs and names of inmates, who were allowed to wear different attires while in custody.
Justice Omotosho held that the petitioner merely relied on bare facts without any evidence, describing his claims as mere hypothesis without concrete evidence. Read more.
—