Kanu Family Alleges Medical Neglect, Seeks NMA And International Intervention Over IPOB Leader’s Health Crisis

The family of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has formally petitioned the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and several international bodies, raising urgent alarm over what they describe as a systematic effort to endanger his life through medical negligence and the intimidation of his personal physicians.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, speaking on behalf of the Okwu-Kanu family, accused the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) of targeting the medical professionals responsible for Kanu’s care, even as legal matters concerning his health remain active before the Court of Appeal.

The family alleges that Kanu’s health was deliberately mismanaged during his time in DSS custody, claiming that state-appointed doctors allowed his potassium level to drop to a critical low of 2.1 mmol/L. According to the family, independent physicians described this condition as life-threatening and capable of triggering cardiac arrest.

The family further detailed that Kanu suffered from poorly managed hypertension, worsening kidney function, and untreated heart complications. They stated that his health only began to improve after an independent medical team, led by Emeritus Professor Martin Aghaji, was permitted access to him.

Following this intervention, his potassium level reportedly rose to 2.9 mmol/L, and symptoms such as nosebleeds, fainting, light-headedness, swollen feet, and persistent headaches were significantly reduced. “The DSS did not save Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s life. His personal physicians did,” the statement asserted.

However, the family claims that these independent doctors have since faced severe repercussions.

They allege that the DSS petitioned the MDCN against Professor Aghaji regarding medication adjustments made by the independent team, and further claimed that he was abducted by armed men, believed to be DSS operatives, following Kanu’s transfer to the Nigerian Correctional Service. Another medical team member, Dr. Charles Ndukwu, has reportedly been summoned by an MDCN Investigation Panel.

Describing these developments as a coordinated campaign against independent medical practitioners, the family has called for an immediate end to the alleged harassment, the withdrawal of all disciplinary proceedings against the doctors, unrestricted access for Kanu to his chosen physicians, and an independent investigation into the alleged falsification of his medical records.

Copies of the petition have been sent to the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel, as well as to Nigerian institutions and international human rights organisations.

In a separate petition addressed directly to the NMA, Kanu appealed for the association’s intervention, citing systematic medical neglect and the alleged falsification of his records by state-appointed doctors. He noted that a previous petition submitted to the NMA on September 29, 2025, had not received a response.

Kanu clarified that his latest petition is not intended to re-litigate matters already before the Court of Appeal, which he acknowledged are subjudice, but rather to seek protection for his physicians and ensure continued access to independent medical care.

He urged the NMA to publicly condemn the alleged harassment, establish an independent oversight mechanism for healthcare involving prisoners and detainees, and intervene to safeguard his right to adequate medical treatment under the Nigerian Correctional Service Act and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the Mandela Rules.

As of press time, the DSS and the MDCN had not publicly responded to the allegations made by Kanu and his family.