Abuja — Hearing in an application for an order of mandamus compelling the Department of State Services (DSS) to release the medical records of the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has been adjourned till May 22.
The adjourned by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja was following requests by the DSS for a short time to respond to issues raised by Kanu against the DSS' objection to the application for order of mandamus.
Meanwhile, Justice Nyako has frowned at the manner in which counsel are going about the proceedings, warning that the court would not permit actions that would truncate proceedings in the next adjourned date.
Hearing in the motion for order of mandamus against the DSS could not proceed as scheduled on Wednesday, due to an oral application by DSS counsel, Idowu Awo, for more time to respond to a further affidavit served on him by Kanu's lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, in the open court.
The detained IPOB leader had, through his team of lawyers, brought the legal action against the DSS and its Director General (1st and 2nd respondents in the matter respectively), over his health conditions which his lawyers claimed has continued to deteriorate since June 2021 in DSS' custody.
Specifically, Kanu, in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/ 2341/2022, had urged the court for permission to apply for an order of mandamus to compel the DSS to allow him have unhindered access to his medical doctor, among others.
While leave was granted Kanu on February 1, the security agency however, in a preliminary objection urged the court to dismiss the suit for want of jurisdiction.
It argued that there was a subsisting judgment of a sister court delivered by Justice Taiwo Taiwo on June 3, 2022 in suit number: FHC/ABJ/CS/1585/2021 between Kanu and DG of DSS and two others wherein the court dealt substantially with the issue of allowing the IPOB leader access to his personal physician.
According to the DSS, the instant suit was similar to the earlier one and that Kanu had filed an appeal against the judgment. However, at yesterday's proceedings, Ozekhome informed the court that he had responded to the DSS' notice of preliminary objection.
After Awo applied for an order for the extension of time to file their processes, Ozekhome also prayed for a consequential order deeming their further affidavit as duly filed and they were granted by the court.
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But Awo, who said he was just being served with the further affidavit, said he would need more time to study the document whether fresh facts had been raised.
He said the document was 60-paragraph but embedded in 15-paragraph.
"It is also accompanied with a judgment from Abia State as exhibit.
"In the circumstance, we will be asking for a short day," he said.
Ozekhome, however, said that in the counter affidavit filed by the security agency, they alleged that Kanu jumped bail.
"We have to respond to that circumstances under which he left Nigeria and those facts had been validated by Abia Court in Umuahia," he responded.
The senior lawyer said they were forced to serve the further affidavit on Tuesday because the DSS served them on Friday.
He said the security outfit was in the habit of serving them with their processes late to delay hearing.
Justice Nyako, while delivering a short ruling for an adjournment, said she would not tolerate any act that might delay proceedings any longer.
"I will not allow this case to be truncated in the next adjourned date.
"There must be an end to exchange of processes," she said.
The judge adjourned the matter until May 22 for hearing.
