After visiting IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu at the Directorate of State Services (DSS) detention center in Abuja with IPOB lead counsel Professor Mike Ozekome, SAN,CON, OFR, counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra, Ifeanyi Ejiofor stated on Monday that Kanu’s health condition has continued to deteriorate in the DSS facility and “needs urgent advanced medical treatment.”
The following statement reads: UPDATE ON OUR INDEFLUENT CLIENT, ONYENDU MAZI NNAMDI KANU’S, VISIT TODAY TO THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE SERVICES (DSS), ABUJA, WHERE HE IS STILL BEING ILLEGALLY AND UNCONSTITUTIONALLY DETAINED IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT:
Our eminent Lead Counsel, Professor Mike Ozekome, SAN,CON, OFR, led today’s visit to our indomitable Client, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, at the DSS detention facility in Abuja, where he is still being held in violation of the Constitution.
The opportunity presented by the visit to discuss Onyendu’s current health was seized upon by our tireless Lead Counsel. He was carefully informed by Onyendu of the lack of proper medical care for the plethora of life-threatening illnesses he is confronted with.
The fact that the DSS does not have sufficient medical facilities to treat Onyendu’s deteriorating health condition is of particular concern. Onyendu cried out in pain, particularly in his left ear, with sincerity. He also said that an earlier scan done at the SSS’s request showed that he needs to have a complex surgery to fix his left ear drum, which has been severely damaged by the severe beating and torture he received from Federal Government agents when he was kidnapped by force in Kenya and brutally returned to Nigeria in June 2021.
Onyendu generally requires urgent, advanced medical care and surgery to address his deteriorating health, particularly in his left ear. He related how the DSS doctor had emphasized to him that if his condition did not improve within 45 days of his examination on November 18,2022, he would need immediate surgery to save his left ear.
He lamented that numerous pleas and reminders that the DSS followed their own medical doctor’s orders have failed. In addition to keeping him in solitary confinement, the DSS has outright denied him access to his private doctor for an independent medical evaluation, as the court had ordered.
Ozekhome, our legal Iroko, meticulously documented all of Onyendu’s medical issues and immediately launched comprehensive legal actions to prevent any unfavorable outcomes. During his briefing with Onyendu, the man of letters spent a lot of time updating him on the status of our appeal before the Supreme Court, which the Federal Government is deliberately delaying.
I was unable to personally meet with Onyendu today due to the length of time allotted to our knowledgeable Lead Counsel for this crucial briefing and the overall time limit for the visit, which does not even allow for a joint conference of two lawyers with Onyendu’s. As a result, I will meet with him on Thursday.
In the meantime, this week, the Federal High Court in Abuja will hear our lawsuit to compel the Department of State Services and its Director General to grant Onyendu access to his doctors and medical records.
Onyendu thanked you all, millions of his obstinate followers, as usual, for supporting him through this trying time.
He urged you all to continue maintaining the prevailing peaceful pace as you have always done, and the most important thing is that he is thankful for your unending prayers.
Ezigbo UmuChineke, I am indebted to each and every one of you.
We shift!
Signed:
Attorney Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor KSC) Lead Counsel for IPOB on January 30, 2023.