IPOB: Group calls for Nnamdi Kanu’s release over worsening health condition

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

A group of medical practitioners under the auspices of Biafra Medical Practitioners (BMP) has called for immediate release of detained leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, over his alleged worsening health condition.

The group made the call in a statement issued over the weekend in Abuja by Dr. Sam Agubosim, M.D. Anesthesiology and Pain Management, including eleven other doctors and health professionals.

According to the statement dated January 13, 2023, the medical practitioners averred that Kanu required immediate release for urgent medical assessment and treatment.

It will be recalled that Mazi Kanu was arrested by security officials in Kenya and renditioned to Abuja, Nigeria on June 27, 2021.

He was subsequently arraigned with a blindfold before Binta Nyako, a Judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Kanu was discharged and acquitted of charges bordering on treasonable felony as instituted against him at the court in response to years of campaign for the independent Republic of Biafra through IPOB.

The medical practitioners claimed a recent Medical Report released in Nigeria revealed that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has a pre-existing heart condition which, according to them, has exacerbated by his continuous imprisonment, “due to poor nutrition, psychological torture, social isolation and electrolyte imbalance.”

The statement titled “Re: Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s Declining Health and Request for Humanitarian Intervention” reads:

“We, Biafra Medical Practitioners (BMP),would like to bring your attention to the urgent need for proper medical care to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who is currently in solitary confinement under the custody of Nigerian Department of State Services (DSS).

“Mazi Kanu requires immediate release for independent medical treatment. He is a British citizen and as such should be sent to his country of citizenship for proper medical treatment. Mazi Kanu was kidnapped from Kenya and renditioned to Abuja, Nigeria on June 27, 2021, where he remains incarcerated, despite several Nigerian trial court rulings, including a Nigerian Appellate Court ruling in October 2022, acquitting and discharging him of all charges.

“A recent Medical Report released in Nigeria revealed that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has a pre-existing heart condition. This condition is exacerbated by his continuous imprisonment, due to poor nutrition, psychological torture, social isolation and electrolyte imbalance.

“In light of Mazi Kanu’s kidnapping and rendition by the Nigerian government, he cannot receive proper medical care in Nigeria. In order for him to receive fair, humane and adequate medical care, he must be sent abroad. Since his detention at the DSS facility, it is reported that he has been denied food and proper medication, which has led to worsening of his health. Evidently, there is an inherent bias in his treatment, which is in violation of his human rights.”