The Federal High Court in Abuja will today (Monday) hear an application seeking the transfer of Nnamdi Kanu, detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), from the Department of State Services (DSS) custody to the National Hospital, Abuja, for urgent medical attention.
The application, filed on September 3 by Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), follows what the legal team described as a “worrisome decline” in Kanu’s health.
Vacation judge, Justice Musa Liman, granted leave for the application to be heard during the court’s annual vacation, stressing the urgency of the matter.
“I believe that the right to health is as important as the right to life,” Justice Liman said while fixing today, September 15, for the hearing and directing that DSS be properly served with the processes.
In a supporting affidavit, Kanu’s brother, Emmanuel Kanu, stated that the IPOB leader had been complaining of persistent weakness and body pains.
He said a team of doctors led by Emeritus Prof. Austin A.C. Agaji conducted medical tests in August and reported that Kanu was suffering from kidney and liver complications, dangerously low potassium levels, and a swelling under his armpit requiring urgent investigation.
Agabi argued that Kanu’s health had continued to deteriorate in DSS custody and urged the court to order his immediate transfer to the National Hospital as a temporary measure.
He noted that a letter sent by the doctors to the DSS Director-General recommending the transfer had not received a response.
Kanu is facing terrorism-related charges before Justice James Omotosho of the same court.
His pending bail application, filed on May 19, was not heard before the court went on vacation, leaving him in detention since his 2021 arrest and extradition from Kenya.
Agabi stressed that granting the transfer request would not prejudice the DSS and was necessary to protect Kanu’s right to health and life.
The application, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015, lists 11 grounds for the relief sought. The court is expected to take arguments from both parties and deliver its ruling today.
