By Abimbola Ogunnaike

Theleader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has stated that there is a conspiracy for him to die in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).

Kanu stated this on Tuesday, 19 March, 2024 Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court Abuja, on Tuesday, after he was denied bail by the court.

Kanu also denied that he is behind the violence in the southeastern part of the country just as he vowed that those behind the violence, in the name of being IPOB members,  would not be spared.

The IPOB leader, who has been in the custody of the DSS since his extradition in June 2021, and is facing charges bordering on treasonable felony, told the court that he is being treated poorly by the secret police.

Earlier, counsel for Kanu, Aloy Ejimakor, asked that his client be transferred to the Kuje Correctional Centre.

Kanu then requested to address the court and was granted permission by Justice Nyako

Kanu told the court that he is suffering from Cognitive Heart Disease. He pulled off his shirt in the courtroom to show the judge his ribs and chest, as evidence of the treatment he is receiving in the custody of the DSS.

The IPOB leader said the doctors treating him within the DSS facility don’t have the drugs to take care of him.

The embattled IPOB , who alleged that He alleged that the DSS is patching him up so he doesn’t die in custody, added that there is a conspiracy for him to die in DSS detention.

He wondered why he was brought back to court when the Supreme Court had said he did not jump bail.

He told the court that he wished to go to Kuje prison to get proper treatment as demanded by the law as the DSS has refused him access to quality healthcare.

But Justice Nyako said she will keep him where she deems fit, as Kuje was out of it. She said that some suspects remanded in Kuje had escaped.

A visibly upset Kanu continued that he can’t go into trial without proper medical attention. He asked for an alternative, even if it’s house arrest, and alleged that his trial was politically motivated.

The judge subsequently adjourned the case to April 17, 2024 for commencement of trial.

After the adjournment of his case Kanu, Kanu distanced from the violence in the south east of Nigeria, explaining that the violence persisted because he was being held in the custody  of the Department of State Services.

Kanu vowed that if released, there would be peace in the entire South-East.

 “Anybody committing crime cannot go free. I swear it. Anybody committing crime in the east cannot go free. They are doing it because I am in the DSS (custody). If I were to be outside, nobody can try this. I suspect that some people in government are complicit. They are making money with the insecurity.

“They know if Nnamdi Kanu is outside, in two minutes, this nonsense will stop. Who is the bagger or idiot that will speak when I am talking? I will give an order in the East who is the idiot that I will give an order that will counter it? Nobody can. I am Nnamdi Kanu”, IPOB leader said.