The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, permission to apply for an order of mandamus to compel the Department of State Service (DSS) to allow him unfettered access to medical care.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2341/2022, Nnamdi Kanu, through his legal team led by Mike Ozekhome and Ifeanyi Ejiofor, requested an independent medical examination to assess his health condition.
Justice Binta Nyako heard an ex-parte application filed by Nnamdi Kanu and directed his legal team to serve all relevant processes on both the DSS and its Director General, who were cited as the first and second respondents in the matter.
Kanu requested from the DSS his admission records, medical and clinical notes, nursing notes, laboratory test results, pharmaceutical records, radiological scans, images, blood transfusion records, physiotherapy and rehabilitative treatment records, clinical findings, diagnosis and treatment prescribed records.
![[FILES] IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu in court](https://www.afriupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Nnamdi-Kanu-in-Court.jpg "IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu fails to regain freedom at Supreme Court 1")
The IPOB leader claimed that his health condition has worsened following his detention and alleged torture, inhuman treatment, and degradation, including a mild cardiac arrest before his return to Nigeria.
He also pointed out that Section 7 of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017, provides that a person arrested, detained, or undergoing custodial investigation has the right to demand a physical and psychological examination by an independent doctor of their own choice, which must be conducted outside the influence of the police or security forces.
In a verifying affidavit, Kanu told the court that before his arrest and rendition, he visited a Specialist Cardiologist every week for medical examination and treatment. He also said that his health condition has continued to deteriorate since being held in solitary confinement and exposed to daily mental and psychological torture.
Kanu’s medical reports, issued by medical specialists managing him before his arrest and rendition, showed that his health has taken a downward spiral since then. Despite the medical personnel’s attempts to treat him, they have been unable to find the reason for the depletion of potassium in his blood and are using him as a guinea pig for a trial-and-error exercise, changing his drugs and increasing the dosage without improvement in his health.
Kanu’s full medical records and reports from the Respondents are crucial for the independent medical examination and for determining the cause of his deteriorating health condition.
The Federal High Court in Abuja granted him permission to apply for an order of mandamus to compel the DSS to allow him access to his medical records and enable him to receive an independent medical examination
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