Family Seeks Intervention Over Nnamdi Kanu’s Medical Care

The family of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has called for the intervention of relevant authorities over what it described as threats to his life, alleging medical neglect and harassment of his independent medical team.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by Prince Emmanuel Kanu on behalf of the Okwu-Kanu Family, the family alleged that the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) were targeting Kanu’s personal physicians despite pending legal proceedings on his medical condition before the Court of Appeal.

The family claimed that while Kanu was in DSS custody, his health was neglected, alleging that doctors assigned to him allowed his potassium level to fall to what independent physicians described as a life-threatening level capable of causing cardiac arrest.

According to the statement, Kanu also suffered from poorly managed hypertension, deteriorating 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 medical team improved Kanu’s potassium level from 2.1 mmol/L to 2.9 mmol/L and reduced episodes of nosebleeds, fainting, light-headedness, swollen feet and persistent headaches.

“The DSS did not save Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s life. His personal physicians did,” the family stated, alleging that the doctors have since faced intimidation rather than commendation.

The family further alleged that the DSS petitioned the MDCN against Prof. Aghaji over medication adjustments made during Kanu’s treatment.

It also claimed that Prof. Aghaji was abducted by armed men suspected to be DSS operatives after Kanu was transferred from DSS custody to the Nigerian Correctional Service, while another member of the medical team, Dr. Charles Ndukwu, had been summoned by the MDCN Investigation Panel.

Describing the development as a coordinated campaign against independent medical practitioners, the family called for an end to the alleged harassment of Kanu’s doctors, withdrawal of disciplinary proceedings against them, unrestricted access for Kanu to his chosen physicians and a transparent investigation into the alleged falsification of his medical records.

The family said 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 (NMA), a copy of which was made available to journalists, Kanu appealed to the association to intervene, alleging that his life remained in danger and accusing authorities of continuing to harass his independent medical team.

In the petition, Kanu alleged that he suffered medical neglect while in DSS custody, claimed that his medical records were falsified by state-appointed doctors and said his earlier petition to the NMA dated September 29, 2025, had yet to receive a response.

He maintained that issues relating to the court-ordered medical examination remained before the Court of Appeal and were therefore sub judice, stressing that his latest petition was intended to seek protection for his physicians and ensure continued access to independent medical care.

Kanu also urged 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 guarantee what he described as his right to adequate medical treatment under the Nigerian Correctional Service Act and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules).

There was no immediate response from the DSS or the MDCN to the allegations at the time of filing this report.