Officials of the Department of State Service in the Nigerian Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Thursday, August 31, 2023 reportedly denied human rights activist and Publisher of SaharaReporters, Omoyele Sowore, access to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu. This is despite the fact that he was granted a formal invitation.
This was made known in a statement shared on his X (formerly Twitter) account.
Sharing a document listing Sowore among those expected to visit Kanu on Thursday, Sowore said, “Visitation to Nnamdi Kanu botched by DSS #FreeNnamdiKanuNow I spent several hours at the#OfficialDSSNG headquarters in Abuja, I was invited by Onyendu #MaziNnamdiKanu to pay him a visit in custody. However, after hours of rigmarole, the DSS told me I can’t see him today. This is the second time I am being denied lawfully ordered visitation to Mazi since his illegal abduction from Kenya. The @officialABAT continues to demonstrate intolerance towards lawful agitation for self-determination. Tinubu is not different from @MBuhari….”
Sowore stated that he was denied access to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, despite Sowore being granted a formal invitation since September 2022.
Kanu was arrested on October 14, 2015, on an 11-count charge by the Federal Government, alleging terrorism, treasonable felony, leading a prohibited group, publication of defamatory material, illegal possession of firearms and improper importation of goods, among others. He is facing seven counts after eight counts were struck out by the court.
