The Federal High Court in Abuja has directed the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to set up a team of medical experts to ascertain the health condition of detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Delivering the ruling on Friday, Justice James Omotosho ordered that the medical team submit its report within eight days. He said the findings would guide the court in deciding on Kanu’s application to be transferred to the National Hospital, Abuja, for proper medical attention.
The court further mandated that the NMA committee visit the Department of State Services (DSS) medical facility to verify whether it has the capacity to manage Kanu’s condition.
Justice Omotosho directed that the committee, comprising between eight and ten members of the NMA, must include a cardiologist, a neurologist, and the Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital, Abuja. He also clarified that the committee is at liberty to make use of any hospital in the country in carrying out its assessment.
Kanu, who is standing trial on a seven-count terrorism charge, has consistently raised concerns over his deteriorating health while in DSS custody. His legal team has argued that the security agency lacks the clinical competence to manage his cardiovascular condition.
The development comes amid heightened criticism from Kanu, who, in an open letter to Nigerians, alleged a pattern of “executive and judicial fraud” designed to perpetually keep him in detention since his extraordinary rendition from Kenya in June 2021.
The IPOB leader pointed to several past rulings that he claimed vindicated him — including the 2017 judgment declaring IPOB a lawful group, the 2022 Federal High Court decision declaring his rendition and detention unconstitutional, and the Court of Appeal’s stance against “executive lawlessness” — which he said have been disregarded by the government.
Kanu accused both the executive and the judiciary of collusion in undermining his constitutional rights, stressing that he would not submit to any trial that lacks jurisdictional validity.
The matter is expected to proceed once the NMA’s independent report on Kanu’s health is filed before the court.
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