A federal high court in Abuja has directed the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) to set up an independent panel to assess the health of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Justice James Omotosho gave the ruling on Friday while considering an application filed by Kanu’s lawyers, who argued that his health has deteriorated sharply in Department of State Services (DSS) custody.
They cited reports of liver and pancreatic complications, dangerously low potassium levels, and a growing lump under his armpit.
Lead counsel Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) insisted that Kanu urgently requires specialist care and urged the court to transfer him to the National Hospital, Abuja. He dismissed the government’s counterclaims as “mere conjecture”, stressing that global medical standards allow patients to seek second opinions without consulting initial doctors.
But federal government counsel Adegboyega Awomolo opposed the application, insisting that DSS facilities were sufficient. He questioned the credibility of Kanu’s new physician, raising fears that recommending treatment abroad could be an escape plan. “How do we guarantee his supporters are not camping at the National Hospital waiting to whisk him off in the night?” he asked.
In his ruling, Justice Omotosho affirmed IPOB’s leader right to life and health but noted security concerns over his exclusive reliance on a private physician. He therefore ordered the NMA president to convene an eight-to-10-member investigative panel — including the chief medical director of the National Hospital or a representative — to verify the severity of Kanu’s condition and evaluate the DSS’s capacity to treat him.
The panel must submit its findings within eight days, signed by both the NMA president and secretary.
