Alloy Ejimakor, special counsel to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has raised an alarm over the condition of his client in DSS custody.
In a statement on Thursday, Ejimakor alleged that DSS operatives have subjected Kanu to harsh, degrading and inhumane treatment in their detention.
He claimed that the IPOB leader is confined to a very tiny cell and denied access to sunlight and any social interactions.
Ejimakor said that Kanu had not changed his clothes or had access to his Jewish prayer shawls and other religious materials since his detention.
He said those who visit Kanu in custody are subsequently detained as punishment and detainees are confined for exchanging pleasantries with the IPOB leader.
The statement reads: “That Nnamdi Kanu is solitarily confined to a very tiny cell twenty-three hours of the day without access to sunlight and any social interactions whatsoever.
“That any detainee who encounters and greets him during the single hour he is allowed outside his cell is promptly put in solitary confinement or transferred to maximum security as a punishment for exchanging mere greetings with him.”
“That other detainees, because of the threat, had resorted to avoiding him and exchanging salutations with him, not to talk of any other form of social interactions.
“That the DSS has refused to replace his corrective glasses (lenses) which were smashed to smithereens by agents of the Nigerian government in the process of the violence they unleashed on him while abducting him in Kenya. This has led to a rapid deterioration of his sight.
“That he is restricted to meeting with his counsel in an atmosphere devoid of private discussions with his counsel; and he is oftentimes denied perusal of legal documentation his counsel brings to him to review.
“That he is not allowed to sleep with a pillow and this has led to him developing acid reflux which comes with acute burning sensations in his chest, chest pains and extreme difficulty in swallowing.
“That on the 17th July 2021, one of his lawyers (the undersigned Barrister Aloy Ejimakor) was detained and interrogated for hours by the DSS when he came to the DSS on visitation to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.”
Ejimakaor added that the DSS has denied Kanu’s repeated requests for a medical checkup to check the extent of damage done to his body by a suspected substance.
It added: “Mazi Kanu has, to date, been denied access to the British Consul despite her repeated requests to see him; and on the day of his last court appearance (10th November 2021), the British Consul who was in court to observe the proceedings was intimidated by DSS officers, who restricted her from coming close to Mazi Kanu.
“That, to date, the DSS has denied his repeated requests for an independent medical examination to determine the extent of damage done to his body by a suspected substance he may have been injected with during this abduction and extraordinary rendition.
“He has reason to believe that the said injected substance is depleting the potassium content of his body, thus causing him constipation, a feeling of skipped heartbeats, palpitations, fatigue, muscle weakness/spasms and numbness.
“That in the circumstance of the foregoing, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu continues to have a persistent and heightened feeling of portent threat to his overall well-being and safety within the DSS facility where he is currently detained.”
