The convicted leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has appealed to the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to intervene over what he described as prolonged medical neglect and the alleged harassment of his independent medical team, as his family claimed his life was endangered while in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).
The Okwu-Kanu family, in a statement issued on Wednesday by Prince Emmanuel Kanu, alleged that Kanu’s health deteriorated due to inadequate medical care in DSS custody. The family accused the security agency and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) of targeting his personal physicians despite pending legal proceedings before the Court of Appeal over his medical condition.
According to the family, Kanu’s health was “systematically neglected and mismanaged”, alleging that doctors assigned by the state allowed his potassium level to fall to 2.1 mmol/L, which independent physicians reportedly described as life-threatening and capable of causing cardiac arrest.
The statement also claimed that Kanu suffered from poorly managed hypertension, worsening kidney function, and untreated cardiac complications before an independent medical team led by Emeritus Professor Martin Aghaji was granted access to him.
The family said the intervention of the independent physicians improved Kanu’s potassium level from 2.1 mmol/L to 2.9 mmol/L and significantly reduced episodes of nosebleeds, fainting, dizziness, swollen feet, and persistent headaches.
“The DSS did not save Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s life. His personal physicians did,” the family stated.
It alleged that, instead of being commended for stabilising Kanu’s condition, the doctors became victims of intimidation and persecution.
The family further claimed that the DSS petitioned the MDCN against Prof. Aghaji over medication adjustments made during Kanu’s treatment. It also alleged that the professor was later abducted by armed men believed to be DSS operatives after Kanu’s transfer from DSS custody to the Nigerian Correctional Service.
It also alleged that another member of the medical team, Dr Charles Ndukwu, had been summoned before the MDCN Investigation Panel.
Describing the actions as a coordinated campaign against independent medical practitioners, the family demanded an immediate end to what it called the harassment of Kanu’s doctors, the withdrawal of disciplinary proceedings against them, unrestricted access for Kanu to his chosen physicians, and an independent investigation into the alleged falsification of his medical records.
It added that copies of its petition had been forwarded to the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel, as well as relevant Nigerian institutions and international human rights organisations.
Meanwhile, in a separate petition addressed to the Nigerian Medical Association and made available to journalists, Kanu urged the association to intervene, insisting that his life remained in danger.
He alleged that he suffered systematic medical neglect while in DSS custody, accused state-appointed doctors of falsifying his medical records, and lamented that an earlier petition submitted to the NMA on September 29, 2025, had yet to receive a response.
Kanu noted that issues relating to the court-ordered medical examination remain before the Court of Appeal and are therefore sub judice, stressing that his latest petition was not intended to relitigate the matter but to seek protection for his physicians and guarantee continued access to independent medical care.
He called on the NMA to publicly condemn the alleged harassment of his doctors, establish an independent oversight mechanism for healthcare involving prisoners and detainees, and intervene to ensure his right to adequate medical treatment in line with the Nigerian Correctional Service Act and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules).
As of the time of filing this report, the DSS, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, and the NMA had not responded to the allegations contained in the family’s statement and Kanu’s petition.
