One of the lawyers to Nnamdi Kanu said they have been denied access to the IPOB leader.
Mr Kanu, who is standing trial for treason, is detained by Nigeria’s secret police, the SSS, in Abuja under a court order.
His lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, said the SSS, on Thursday, prevented him and two other lawyers from seeing Mr Kanu, despite a court order which permits them to visit him on Mondays and Thursdays.
He said when he and the other lawyers visited the SSS facility, they were surprised that the officials could ask them to go put their request to see the IPOB leader in writing even when the officials were familiar with their previous visits.
“I said let me write the thing on a scrap of paper, they said it should be on letterhead and should be addressed to the DG of SSS.
“So we went back to our satellite office and prepared such a letter and brought it back. They took the letter from us. We were there around 3:30 p.m., so there was still an hour, thirty minutes window for us to see Kanu.
The lawyers eventually left without seeing Mr. Kanu.
Mr. Ejimakor said he was worried about Mr. Kanu’s wellbeing, especially since the SSS failed to produce the IPOB leader for his scheduled trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja, July 26.
“We are very concerned, the last time I saw him was 12 days ago,” he told PREMIUM TIMES, Thursday.
“This Saturday (July 31) will make it two weeks since I saw him with my eyes, and you know access to him is only by his lawyers.
“That means in the past 12 days no one has set eyes on him. I am concerned as much as the multitude of people are concerned about his wellbeing,” he said.
“I think (the) government has an obligation to make that happen. So this thing they are doing is interfering with his constitutional rights and is fueling legitimate speculations and concerns about his wellbeing.”
Since the courts in Nigeria are on vacation, Mr. Kanu’s lawyers are thinking of approaching a vacation judge to make the order compelling for the SSS to allow access to the IPOB leader.
“I am very sad,” Mr. Ejimakor said.
The spokesperson for the SSS, Peter Afunanya, did not respond to calls and a text message seeking comment from him.