IPOB leader says his life is endangered as the Federal High Court is set to hear an urgent motion on Monday
The legal and health troubles of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), took a fresh turn as the Federal High Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a motion seeking his transfer from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) to the Abuja National Hospital for urgent medical treatment.
The application, brought before the court by Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), comes against the backdrop of alarming reports from medical experts that Kanu’s health has deteriorated dangerously. According to documents filed, examinations carried out by a team of doctors, including Emeritus Professor Austin A.C. Agaji, revealed that the IPOB leader is battling complications affecting his liver, kidneys, and pancreas. The medical report also indicated the emergence of a swelling under his armpit and dangerously low potassium levels, conditions that experts warned could escalate without immediate hospital care.
Emmanuel Kanu, his younger brother, confirmed in an affidavit that the IPOB leader had complained of persistent weakness and body pains, prompting the involvement of the doctors. He explained that the specialists, after running several tests in August, delivered their findings on September 1, 2025, stressing the urgent need to move him to the National Hospital for proper management.
The motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015, was filed on September 3 after Justice Musa Liman, sitting as a vacation judge, granted permission for it to be heard during the court’s annual recess. Justice Liman, in allowing the urgent application, noted that the right to health is inseparable from the right to life, emphasizing that the court could not ignore the matter during the vacation period.
Chief Agabi argued that his client’s condition requires immediate intervention, noting that even the DSS had been formally advised by doctors to transfer Kanu, but the recommendation has gone unanswered. He further stressed that granting the motion would not prejudice the state, while insisting that the court possesses full jurisdiction to entertain the prayers.
This legal move coincides with Kanu’s latest open letter to Nigerians in which he accused the federal government of employing judicial and executive “tricks” to perpetually detain him despite several favorable court rulings. He recalled that as far back as 2017, the Federal High Court declared IPOB a lawful organization, a judgment that the government never appealed but instead circumvented by securing an ex parte order tagging the group as a terrorist organization.
Kanu cited subsequent judgments, including the 2022 Court of Appeal decision that held his extraordinary rendition from Kenya to Nigeria violated international and domestic law, thereby stripping Nigerian courts of jurisdiction to try him. He accused the government of colluding with some judges to undermine these rulings by securing a controversial “stay of execution” on an already disobeyed order.
He further referenced the Supreme Court’s December 2023 decision which faulted the revocation of his bail, describing the trial judge as biased. According to Kanu, the logical expectation would have been the restoration of his bail once the case returned to the High Court. Instead, he alleged, the judiciary conspired with the executive to prolong his incarceration in violation of constitutional provisions.
The IPOB leader also highlighted his September 2024 decision to demand the recusal of Justice Binta Nyako, citing bias and denial of fair trial guarantees. While the judge formally withdrew from the case, Kanu accused the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court of unlawfully reassigning the matter to her despite her valid recusal order.
In his strongly worded letter, Kanu insisted that his case is being deliberately shielded from impartial judges willing to uphold justice. He maintained that he would never submit to a trial conducted under conditions that undermine constitutional safeguards, even if it meant remaining in detention for life.
As the Federal High Court reconvenes on Monday to consider his urgent health motion, the stakes remain high, with Kanu’s deteriorating condition now at the center of a legal and political storm. The outcome could determine not only the trajectory of his trial but also the broader implications of executive-judicial relations in Nigeria’s justice system.
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