Barr Ifeanyi Ejiofor, Counsel to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB), Monday, told the media that the leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu’s health condition has continued to deteriorate in the detention facility of the Directorate of State Services, DSS.
WHAT WE KNOW
“The Nigerian state might be feeling very confident of the ability of their military because of the comparative performance in suppressing agitations in the country, but that is only a foolish assessment of the true situation.
Should Nnamdi Kanu die in the detention facility of the DSS or in the hand of any security operative under the current circumstances, that will be the greatest undoing of the Nigeria State”, says Barr Williams Ukonu, a rights activist and the founder of Biafran National Party (BNP).
The lawyer made this comment in a chart with Clariform correspondent on Wednesday following the alarm raised by the head of the legal team of the IPOB leader, Barr Ifeanyi Ejiofor.
The lead counsel representing Nnamdi Kanu, the detained IPOB leader had on Monday cried out against the deteriorating health conditions of his client, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Ejiofor stated this in Owerri, the capital city of Imo State after they visited Kanu at the DSS detention centre, in Abuja.
The lawyer alleged that efforts made by his doctor to address his medical issues were prevented by DSS personnel.
According to Ejiofor, the health conditions of his client was known after he made a routine visit to Nnamdi Kanu as ordered by the court.
Reacting to Kanu’s health situation, as made known by his counsel, the Ohaneze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural body, has warned that the leader of the IPOB, should not be allowed to die in the facilities of DSS, where he has been kept for over one year.
The Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze said that it is the right of Kanu to see his doctors to examine his health and wondered why DSS should deny that right.
NOTABLE QUOTES
Speaking in Owerri, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, counsel to the IPOB leader said:
“The court-ordered routine visit to our indefatigable client, Nnamdi Kanu, has just been concluded at DSS Headquarters, Abuja, where he is still being held in solitary confinement for over 14 months.
“Highlight of today’s visit was to review other pending litigations initiated against the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) for their grave violation of International Laws and Treaties in their criminal abduction and extraordinary rendition of Onyendu Kanu; sanctions, and reparation arising from this act of state terrorism.
“The visit also allowed us to review the overall welfare of Onyendu, as well as the level of the DSS compliance with existing court order in the management of Onyendu’s health condition.
“For the records, it is pertinent to reiterate that for the umpteenth time, the lawless DSS has continued to treat with greatest contempt/disdain, the existing Court Order, which specifically directed that Onyendu should be allowed access to his medical doctor for an independent review/investigation of his current health status. This is following the continued depletion of his potassium level.”
“Regrettably, this court order is gravely flouted with impunity by the DSS, as efforts made by Onyendu’s doctor to see him at the DSS facility where he is currently being detained were rebuffed/rejected by the DSS.
“Presently, Onyendu is experiencing gastro intestinal disorder, which requires regular intake of antacids and other availing medical solutions, following persistent heartburn. Unfortunately, the DSS has denied him the least of the prescribed pain killer tablet that could provide momentary relief,” he said.
Ohaneze Ndigbo, in a statement by it’s spokesman Dr. Alex Chidozie Ogbonnia, the group said:
“Nnamdi Kanu is currently suffering from gastrointestinal illness, which necessitates the constant use of antacids and other available medical treatment”
“the DSS has (allegedly) refused to allow him to have even the smallest amount of the prescribed painkiller, which could have given him short-term respite”.
“The attention of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has been drawn to the deteriorating health of the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
“Report from Ifeanyi Ejiofor, the IPOB’s attorney, further adds that the DSS has repeatedly treated the existing court order with the utmost contempt and disdain.
“The above report should be very worrisome to any fair-minded patriotic Nigerian. They are fair-minded and patriotic because it is self-evident that the Nnamdi Kanu phenomenon is a product of circumstances.”
CATCH UP
Recall that Nnamdi Kanu have been in the DSS custody since his extraordinary rendition from Kenya last year. The abduction itself have been condemned in several quarters locally and international.
While Kanu is held and been tried in a Nigerian court, a UN right group had in July called for the unconditional release of the separatist leader on the ground that his abduction and subsequent return to Nigeria fail short of international law and convention.
The Nigerian court have also quashed eight of the 15 count charges against Nnamdi Kanu the leader of IPOB, while he has appealed the ruling so as to have the remaining charges quashed.
COMMENTARY
Health care is a fundamental right even to those held by government. Kanu`s right to life entitles him to medical care, even in detention.
Even convicted criminals enjoy certain inalienable right including right to healthcare. There is no reason Kanu who is a prisoner of conscience should be denied medical rights, especially if his life is threatened as alleged by his counsel.
Moreover, the Federal Government and it’s agency the DSS should be careful not to play into the hands of anarchy by deliberately acting in manners that stokes crisis in the southeast.
The would be consequences of the death of the IPOB leader in the detention facility of the DSS may not be as simple as the current insecurity situation in the southeast region.
There is no doubt that any such development will immediate erupt into uncontrollable violence in the country at large.
