The Department of State Security (DSS) has finally granted access to Nnamdi Kanu’s legal team after a prolonged legal struggle.
Reports indicate that DSS Director-General Adeola Ajayi authorized Kanu’s lawyers to visit the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who has been in custody on terrorism charges since his controversial extradition from Kenya in June 2021.
Kanu’s defense team, led by special counsel Aloy Ejimakor, had frequently accused the DSS of obstructing access to their client, even after a May 2023 court order by Justice Binta Nyako directed the DSS to allow visitation three times per week. Repeated denials eventually led the court to summon Ajayi in October, warning him of possible jail time if access continued to be blocked.
The breakthrough comes after intervention by House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and Abia State Representative Obi Aguocha, who visited Kanu in detention and helped reach a “political compromise,” as Ejimakor described it, to resolve the access issue.
On Monday, Ejimakor announced on social media that the legal team successfully visited Kanu for the first time since September 27. The visit, conducted with U.S.-based Nigerian Ndidi Awurum, reportedly had the direct approval of the DSS director-general.
