Aloy Ejimakor, a lawyer for the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra Nnamdi Kanu, says the Department of State Services has prevented the IPOB leader from signing the UK consular assistance form.
The British High Commission had expressed interest to take up Mr Kanu’s case as he is also a British citizen. The commission wants clarification from the Nigerian government about the circumstances of Kanu’s arrest.
However, after visiting Kanu in DSS custody last week where he handed the secret police the forms to be signed, Mr Ejimakor in a statement on Monday said the forms were returned to him unsigned.
The statement read, “Last Saturday when I visited Mazi Kanu, I expressed strong concerns about the inordinate delay in having Kanu sign the two Forms I had taken to the DSS for Kanu’s signature some days before.
“Both Forms relate to affirming his consent to consular and diplomatic interventions by the United Kingdom and her High Commission in Nigeria.
“Surprisingly, the Forms were returned to me unsigned.
“Let me make it clear that the day I took the Forms to the DSS, the officers on location were amenable to Kanu signing them until somewhere along the line, they tarried and decided to send it to the legal unit for vetting.
“So, my sense is that it’s the legal unit of the DSS that disapproved of Kanu signing the Forms for reasons that were not given to me.
“As a lawyer, I don’t see any legal advantage the government of Nigeria stands to gain by blocking Kanu from signing those Forms. The Forms are but a mere routine in matters like this.
“Instead of any advantage, the refusal will help fuel the notion that the government of Nigeria is deliberately isolating Kanu from having consular and diplomatic access to the United Kingdom.”
Ejimakor said the DSS act was not in conformity with the best practices of fairness.
“For these reasons, I am now compelled to call on the British High Commission in Nigeria to banish every red tape and exert the full weight of its diplomatic clout in gaining immediate access to Kanu. This is especially important, given the prospects of better welfare, including adequate medical care for Mazi Kanu.
“Further, the prompt intervention of the High Commission will mean that Kanu will have another layer of human contact in addition to his legal team who are the only ones currently allowed to see him,” he added.
