Aloy Ejimakor, special counsel to Nnamdi Kanu, has claimed that Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Service (DSS), was preventing him and others from having access to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Mr Kanu is being detained by a court order in the SSS facility in Abuja. He is standing trial for alleged treasonable felony and terrorism.
Mr Ejimakor, Monday afternoon, posted a comment on Twitter, claiming that Mr Kanu’s lawyers were not allowed by DSS to visit the IPOB leader on Thursday.
He said: “Last Thursday, we were not allowed visitation with Onyendu because, according to DSS, the ‘special squad’ in-charge of visitations went on ‘outside assignment’”
“They asked us to come on Monday (today). Today, we‘re at DSS. They’re telling us the same thing. We DISAGREE,” he added.
Mr Ejimakor and the others, including another of Mr Kanu’s lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, and Mr Kanu’s brother, Emmanuel, were still around the SSS headquarters, Abuja, as at 2:30 p.m., hoping they would be allowed in to visit the IPOB leader.
He said he sent a message to a lawyer with the SSS, appealing for his intervention. But the lawyer had not responded, he said.
“Barr Ejiofor actually just arrived, he went straight inside. I think he is protesting. I am in the car doing this thing (answering calls). Another barrister, Prince Mandela is here.
“We are basically four (persons), but you know they allow (only) three (persons to go in),” the lawyer said.
Newsmen asked Mr Ejimakor what he thinks was the reason for the action of the security agency.
“I don’t know and I can’t speculate,” he responded. “It is wrong, and the court ordered the visitation, twice a week – Monday and Thursday.
“And I personally, I came from the east to see him last Thursday, it didn’t work, so I stayed over to see him today,” he said.
“The public needs to know that this is happening twice in a row. Since the last hearing on 16 February we have not set our eyes on him (Kanu),” he added.
When newsmen contacted the spokesperson for the DSS, Peter Afunanya, he requested our reporter to send a text message to him, but he did not respond to the message as of the time of filing this report.
