The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed the appeal filed by Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who was convicted of terrorism.

The appellate court ruled that Kanu’s appeal lacked merit and had effectively become academic. Details of the judgment indicate that the court found no substantial grounds to overturn the lower court’s conviction.

Kanu, whose trial and conviction have drawn national and international attention, remains in custody pending enforcement of his sentence.

Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Boloukuromo Moses Ugo noted that the substance of the appeal became academic when Kanu’s lawyer, Maxwell Opara, confirmed at proceedings that his client was being held in Sokoto prison. The judge said the court could no longer grant Kanu’s request to be relocated to Kuje prison, as he had already been remanded in the facility he preferred.

The appeal challenged a July 3 ruling by Justice Taiwo Taiwo (now retired) of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had dismissed Kanu’s fundamental rights enforcement suit for failing to prove his case.

The respondents in the appeal were the Director General of the DSS, the DSS, and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).