Ifeanyi Ejiofor, the lead lawyer of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has said his client needs “urgent advanced medical treatment and surgical operation to address his deteriorating health condition, especially on his left ear”.
In a statement late on Monday night, obtained by Bellnewsonline.com, Ejiofor said Kanu has suffered an ear injury due to the “severe torture and beating he received from agents of the Federal Government when he was forcibly kidnapped in Kenya and savagely renditioned back to Nigeria in June 2021”.
Bellnewsonline.com reports that Kanu’s lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN) had visited the IPOB leader in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja on Monday, and made the update on Kanu’s health available to Ejiofor.
“Our indefatigable Lead Counsel seized the opportunity offered by the visit to discuss the present health condition of Onyendu (Kanu). Onyendu carefully narrated to him the non-provision of proper medical care to the barrage of life-threatening illnesses he is faced with,” Ejiofor said.
“Of very particular concern is the fact that the DSS have no adequate medical facilities to treat Onyendu’s deteriorating health condition.
“Onyendu seriously lamented about severe pains particularly on his left ear. He also recounted that a previous scan at the instance of the SSS revealed that he must undergo an advanced surgical procedure to repair his left ear drum that has become greatly impaired by the severe torture and beating he received from agents of the Federal Government when he was forcibly kidnapped in Kenya and savagely renditioned back to Nigeria in June, 2021.
“Generally, Onyendu needs urgent advanced medical treatment and surgical operation to address his deteriorating health condition, especially on his left ear.
“He narrated how the DSS doctor had emphatically told him that if after 45 days from November 18, 2022, when he was examined, his case had not improved, then he must undergo immediate surgery to save whatever remains of his left ear. He lamented that several reminders and pleas that the DSS carried out their own medical doctor’s instructions have met a brick wall.
“Being held in a solitary confinement, the DSS has also bluntly refused him access to his private doctor for independent medical assessment as ordered by the court.
“Our legal Iroko, Ozekhome, painstakingly took comprehensive notes of Onyendu’s entire medical concerns and has immediately swung into action with full legal initiatives to forestall any untoward eventualities.”