Why Nnamdi Kanu should not be transferred to National Hospital – Nigerian Govt

The Federal Government, on Friday, faulted a medical report that was issued by private physicians/consultants that the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu engaged to assess the condition of his health.

This was as the government opposed Kanu’s request to be transferred to the National Hospital in Abuja for medical attention.

Kanu’s medical team, led by Dr Martin Aghaji, had in the report, recommended the immediate transfer of the defendant to either the National Hospital or a foreign medical facility for proper treatment.

Aghaji, who retired from the University of Nigeria, Nsuka, Enugu State, based his recommendations on the deteriorating health condition of the IPOB leader.

However, opposing the request on Friday, the Federal Government told the Federal High Court in Abuja that a team of medical experts at the Department of State Services, DSS, led by Dr Mohammed Nasir, had assessed Kanu’s health and assured that he could be properly treated at the security agency’s medical facility without recourse to the National Hospital.

Federal Government lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, further told the court that the umbrella body of medical doctors in the country, the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, has equally constituted a seven-man panel to look into the discrepancy between the report by Kanu’s private physician and that of the medical team at the DSS.

He told the court that a group of ‘powerful’ medical practitioners across the country had also visited Kanu at the DSS detention facility to ascertain his health status.

The Federal Government insisted that the report that was issued by Kanu’s private physician was not only exaggerated but equally suspicious as it also contained a recommendation for the defendant to be taken to a hospital in America.

The prosecution counsel told the court that NMA’s independent report on Kanu’s health condition was being awaited.

Besides, the government argued that no single medical personnel from the DSS was involved when Kanu was assessed by his private physicians/consultants.

It alleged that Aghaji unilaterally changed medication for Kanu, in utter disregard for the manner the defendant has been treated for the past four years.

The government contended that the exclusion of the medical officers who have been managing Kanu’s health for years punctured the credibility of the report and its recommendations.

The Federal Government further contended that moving Kanu to the National Hospital would create chaos and inconvenience for thousands of patients receiving treatment at the facility.

Why Nnamdi Kanu should not be transferred to National Hospital – Nigerian Govt