The legal team of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has accused Nigeria’s State Security Service (SSS) of denying them access to Kanu. Kanu has been in detention since his controversial extradition from Kenya in 2021 and is facing terrorism charges.

Aloy Ejimakor, Kanu’s special counsel, shared a video on X (formerly Twitter) where he, alongside three other lawyers—Nnaemeka Ejiofor, Patrick Agaezi, and Mandela Umegbogu—stated that they were prevented from meeting with Kanu during a visit to the SSS facility in Abuja. Ejimakor claimed this action violated court orders and Kanu’s constitutional rights to legal counsel.

The legal team had intended to discuss the next steps in Kanu’s case after the withdrawal of Justice Binta Nyako from handling the trial. Ejimakor speculated that the SSS had canceled future visits as retaliation for Kanu’s request for the judge’s withdrawal, describing the situation as a deepening of Kanu’s “solitary confinement.”

This is not the first time the SSS has allegedly obstructed access to Kanu, with similar incidents reported in 2021 and 2022. Kanu’s trial has been mired in legal controversies, including his extradition and the government’s refusal to comply with an earlier court ruling ordering his release. Despite the Court of Appeal striking out the terrorism charges and declaring Kanu’s rendition illegal in October 2022, the government has appealed the ruling, leading to the Supreme Court’s reversal of the acquittal and ordering a continuation of his trial.