BIAFRA NEWS : Court grants Kanu’s request for medical care

 

The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, the permission to apply for an order of mandamus to compel the Department of State Service to allow him to have unfettered access to medical care.

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/ 2341/2022, Kanu through his legal team led by Mike Ozekhome and Ifeanyi Ejiofor said he needed an independent medical examination to ascertain his health condition.

After hearing an ex-parte application filed by the IPOB leader, Justice Binta Nyako, directed Kanu’s legal team to serve all the relevant processes on both the DSS and its Director General, who were cited as 1st and 2nd Respondents in the matter.

The IPOB leader said he would require from the DSS his admission records, medical and clinical notes, nursing notes, observation charts and documentation during treatment or stay-in-hospital, laboratory test results, pharmaceutical records, radiological scans, images and reports, blood transfusion records, physiotherapy and rehabilitative treatment records, clinical findings, as well as diagnosis and treatment prescribed records.

He pointed out that on October 21, 2021, Justice Nyako had ordered that he should be allowed access to three persons of his choice, including his medical doctors.

Specifically, he is praying to the court for an order, granting him leave to, “apply for judicial review in the form of an order of Mandamus, compelling the Respondents to allow the Applicant unhindered access to his medical doctors to enable them to conduct an independent examination of his present deteriorating health condition, as earlier ordered by the Federal High Court, Abuja, Coram, Hon. Justice B.F.M. Nyako, on the 21st day of October 2021; and as required by the express provisions of section 7 of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017.

“An order of this Honourable Court granting leave to the Applicant to apply for judicial review in the form of an order of Mandamus, compelling the Respondents to avail the Applicant with all his medical records, from the 29th day of June 2021, till date.

Contending that section 7 of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017, provided that a person arrested, detained or undergoing, custodial investigation, shall have the right to demand a physical and psychological examination by an independent and competent doctor of his own choice after interrogation, which shall be conducted outside the influence of the Police or security forces.

“The Respondents have repeatedly denied the Applicant access to medical doctors of his choice to independently examine him, contrary to the order of the court made on the 21st October 2021; and the express provisions of Section 7 of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017.”

He also alleged that his health condition has worsened following his ordeal detention where he was subjected to torture, inhuman treatment and degradation and that he suffered a mild cardiac arrest before he was “smuggled back into Nigeria”.