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By Dennis Agbo

Mr. Aloy Ejimakor, the Special Counsel to the detained leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has alleged that the Department of State Service, DSS, has isolated Kanu from having consular and diplomatic access to the United Kingdom.

Recall that Kanu, a dual citizen of both Nigeria and the United Kingdom was abducted last month from Kenya while transiting with a British passport.

Ejimakor also said that the DSS equally returned some Jewish prayer books and clothing he had taken to him last week, on the excuse that Kanu should be the one to make the request through a certain department at the DSS that officially caters to his needs.

Kanu’s lawyer made the revelations shortly after he visited the detained IPOB leader on Monday.

Ejimakor said that when he visited Kanu, during the weekend, he had expressed strong concerns about the inordinate delay in having Kanu sign the two Forms he had taken to the DSS for Kanu’s signature some days earlier.

He noted that both Forms relate to affirming Kanu’s consent to consular and diplomatic interventions by the United Kingdom and the 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.”

Ejimakor stated that as a Lawyer, he did not see any legal advantage the government of Nigeria stands to gain by blocking Kanu from signing the Forms that he described as mere routine in such matters.

“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.

“It does not comport with the best traditions of fundamental fairness that a detainee is being denied access to resources that will assist him in his defence. This is one of the things that will count in our reckoning as this matter continues to fold.

“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, “Ejimakor said.

He further said that the prompt intervention of the British 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.

Vanguard News Nigeria