M…copies of the petition were also forwarded to the Registrar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, the Director-General of the DSS, and President of NMA
ABUJA, NIGERIA – The iNews Times | The legal team representing the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has formally petitioned the World Medical Association (WMA) over what it describes as life-threatening medical neglect in the custody of Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS).
The petition, dated October 3, 2025, was submitted by the Washington D.C.-based law offices of Bruce Fein and addressed to Dr. Jacqueline Kitulu, President of the WMA. The document paints a dire picture of Kanu’s health condition, alleging deliberate denial of medical care, falsification of medical records, and systemic intimidation of independent doctors involved in his treatment.
Copies of the letter were also forwarded to the Registrar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, the Director-General of the DSS, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, and the President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).
Kanu, who was arrested in Kenya and forcefully repatriated to Nigeria in June 2021, has now spent over four years in solitary confinement at the DSS facility. The letter alleges that he is currently battling severe and untreated health complications, including potassium deficiency, tinnitus-induced insomnia, hypertension, organ stress, and recurrent fainting spells.
“I represent Biafran leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu… detained in a Nigerian dungeon in solitary confinement for more than four years without a trial,” the letter reads in part. “He has been deprived of proper medical care by Nigerian authorities for acute ailments caused by the Kenyan-Nigerian governments. The deprivation has now reached a life-threatening threshold.”
The petition calls on the WMA to initiate urgent actions through the NMA, including investigating alleged falsification of Kanu’s medical records by DSS-appointed doctors, ensuring the independence of his chosen physician, Emeritus Professor Martin Aghaji, and compelling the release of a sealed medical report filed on September 22, 2025.
According to the petition, the DSS has repeatedly tampered with Kanu’s medical information, citing the example of Dr. Nasiru Mohammed, who allegedly recorded normal potassium levels when they were critically low. The letter alleges that when challenged, Dr. Mohammed provided no medical justification for continued prescriptions of potassium-sparing drugs.
The medical details are alarming: Kanu’s potassium levels were recorded at 1.9 mmol/L–a life-threatening drop from the normal range, prompting emergency interventions. Despite over 50 blood tests taken in custody, the letter states, there has been no lasting improvement in his condition.
The role of independent physicians, particularly Emeritus Professor Martin Aghaji, is emphasized as pivotal to Kanu’s survival. The letter credits Aghaji’s intervention with stabilizing some of the IPOB leader’s symptoms and improving his potassium levels modestly. However, the DSS has allegedly subjected him to the same pattern of intimidation imposed on earlier physicians.
The legal team also raised the alarm over tinnitus –a condition causing incessant internal noise in Kanu’s ears which has led to severe sleep deprivation. “Tinnitus-induced sleep deprivation… when combined with existing hypertension, organ strain, and potassium instability, places MNK in immediate danger of stroke, collapse, or sudden death,” the letter warns.
The petition concludes with a call for decisive international action.
“We respectfully call upon the WMA to direct the Nigeria Medical Association at the risk of suspension… to guarantee immediate medical care for MNK, protect ethical physicians, and investigate malpractice in DSS medical management.”
It further warns that failure to act promptly may result in irreversible consequences: “Without immediate decisive action… Nigeria’s criminal medical neglect of MNK may prove fatal.”
As of press time, there has been no official response from the Department of State Services or the Nigerian Medical Association.
