Intestinal ailment worsening Kanu’s health – Lawyer

46

Intestinal ailment worsening Kanu’s health – Lawyer, Human rights activist and lawyer Ifeanyi Ejiofor stated on Monday that Indigenous People of Biafra leader Nnamdi Kanu’s health had worsened after he was diagnosed with a gastrointestinal condition due to chronic heartburn.

He claims that the Department of State Services has been working in opposition to the decision of Justice Binta Nyako of a Federal High Court in Abuja that the IPOB leader should be provided urgent medical attention.

Over the past 14 months, Kanu has been held in DSS custody pending his trial on treason allegations.

In a statement released after visiting Kanu when he was in DSS detention in Abuja, Ejiofor sounded the alarm.

While he did say that court orders must be followed, especially if they have not been overturned, he also stressed that the DSS is a legal creation and cannot be portrayed as being above the law.

According to him, “Onyendu is currently suffering from gastrointestinal disease, which necessitates the daily intake of antacid and other medical remedies due to continuous heartburn.” The DSS has refused him even the minimal amount of the necessary pain medication, which would provide him with temporary comfort.

After this, our brilliant head lawyer Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) jumped into action to put a stop to the mistreatment and impunity. While we hope that nothing bad happens to Onyendu, we feel it is necessary to put the world on notice that the DSS and the Federal Government of Nigeria should be held accountable.

The kidnapping and extraordinary rendition of Onyendu, as well as the subsequent litigation seeking sanctions and reparation for this act of state terrorism, prompted the delegation to visit Nigeria in order to assess other current litigations brought against the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

We were able to check in on Onyendu’s well-being as a whole and see how well the DSS was following the court’s existing order on the care of Onyendu’s health.

For the record, I’ll say it again: the lawless DSS continues to treat the existing court order, which clearly specified that Onyendu should be allowed access to his own medical doctor for an impartial review/investigation of his current health situation, with the utmost disrespect and disdain.

This is because his potassium level has been steadily dropping. Unfortunately, this court order is being flagrantly disregarded by the DSS, since Onyendu’s personal doctor was spurned and rejected when he attempted to visit Onyendu at the DSS facility where he is being held. Stop acting with such apparent impunity!

Kanu also expressed his deepest gratitude to his staunchest backers.

Ejiofor commended them for their exceptional civility in the face of constant provocation and urged them to maintain it, adding that he is confident that God’s grace “is driving us towards overwhelming victory, which is no longer far fetched.”