The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has raised alarm over his health condition and the abominable health care he receives at the detention facility of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja, Nigeria.
This was disclosed in a “Formal Letter Of Complaint And Appeal” Mazi Kanu sent to the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA).
According to Kanu, DSS doctors ‘treat him as an object, not as a patient’.
He further claimed that the doctors were given strict instructions never to explain anything to him or converse with him.
In the letter addressed to NMA President, dated September 29, 2025, Kanu raised ‘grave concerns regarding his medical treatment and health management in DSS custody’.
He requested for urgent intervention, seeking independent practitioners to make a proper evaluation of his health condition.
He also requested for the immediate release of his NMA medical assessment report to the court. Kanu wrote:
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Introduction
I, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, detained in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) In Abuja, write with a deep sense of urgency and gravity to place before the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) the true and detailed account of my medical ordeal.
My health, already weakened by my violent abduction in Kenya, has been compromised further by inconsistent, falsified, and sometimes outright negligent medical practices within Nigeria.
This letter is intended, not only to bring my condition to the formal attention of the NMA, but also to invoke the ethical responsibilities of the medical profession under both Nigerian law and International human rights standards.
I specifically call on the NMA to: Investigate and address the manipulation of my medical records in DSS custody. Protect independent practitioners, particularly Emeritus Professor Martin Aghaji, whose intervention has been lifesaving.
Ensure the immediate release of the NMA medical team’s report of 22 September, 2025, which the Federal High Court has directed must be filed within four days. Recognize and respond to the grave risks posed by untreated conditions, especially tinnitus-induced sleep deprivation, which continues to endanger my life.
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My Ordeal In Kenya and Its Aftermath
On arriving at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, I was violently abducted by masked operatives, manhandled, and dragged into captivity. For eight days, I was chained by the leg to a wall in a pitch-dark, windowless room.
During this period:
On the very time day, my head was slammed against the edge of a car door, resulting in an open wound that bled onto my clothing. The pain was sharp, my vision blurred, and dizziness set in almost immediately.
For the first five days, I was denied even the basic essentials of life: no food, no water, and none of my long-prescribed medications. This deprivation nearly suffocated me, producing severe difficulty in breathing and overwhelming weakness.
On the fifth day, when my body began to fail, a doctor was summoned. My blood pressure was found to be dangerously high, and I was given a 40mg dose of Amlodipine along with a strange red wine-coloured liquid.
Soon after, a cardiologist performed an ECG examination, but its results were never disclosed to me. I was treated as an object, not as a patient, with strict instructions Issued to the doctors not to explain or converse.
From the evening of that fifth day until my forced rendition on the eighth, I was compelled to Ingest 40mg Amlodipine daily, an unidentified white tablet, and an unmarked gel-like substance.
0This treatment In Kenya – characterized by brutality, secrecy, and denial of basic medical rights – left me gravely weakened by the time of my unlawful transfer to Nigeria, which itself violated international, Kenyan, and Nigerian law.
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Medical Mismanagement in Nigeria
At the Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA) facility in Abuja, I was immediately placed on 10mg Amlodipine and a diuretic. There was no improvement in my condition.
Within days, I was moved to the DSS detention facility. Blood analysis there revealed a life-threatening potassium deficiency – my levels had collapsed to life ending 1.9 mmol/L.
I was then placed on:
- Potassium supplements;
- Amlodipine 10mg/Valsartan 160mg;
- Eplerenone 50mg;
- Bisoprolol 5mg (later increased to 10mg).
It quickly became dear that whenever potassium supplements were withdrawn, my levels plummeted again to the same life-threatening range. At one stage, the DSS went so far as to send my blood samples to South Africa for testing, which confirmed severe potassium depletion but gave no explanation for its cause.
Rather than pursue the matter, the DSS dismissed the honest doctor who had recommended further investigations and replaced him with Dr. Nasiru Mohammed.
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Falsification of Medical Records and Continuing Symptoms
From the moment he assumed control, Dr. Nasiru Mohammed began falsifying my test results, recording normal potassium levels when in reality they were dangerously low. When challenged as to why a potassium-sparing drug like Eplerenone was still prescribed if my potassium was supposedly normal, he provided no medical justification.
Under his so-called care, I continued to experience:
- Frequent nosebleeds;
- Fainting episodes and near-collapse;
- Severe light-headedness;
- Unrelenting chest pains on my left side;
- Debilitating headaches;
- Swelling of the feet.
Over 50 blood samples have been taken during my time in DSS custody, but these have yielded no Improvement in my health under the management of DSS-appointed doctors.
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The Role of Independent Physicians
My longtime personal physician, Dr. Cfine, who has treated me faithfully for decades, was barred from access and intimidated into silence. This exclusion lasted until the intervention of Emeritus Professor Martin Aghaji, a globally respected surgeon and medical teacher.
It was his timely Intervention that saved me from imminent collapse. Under his professional and ethical care:
My potassium level rose modestly hum 2.1 to 2.9 mmoVL — still below safe levels, but a clear sign of genuine medical progress.
My episodes of nosebleeds, fainting, and light-headedness ceased. Swollen feet reduced, and the headaches subsided to an occasional level.
In addition, Emeritus Professor Martin Aghaji confirmed and documented broader systemic health problems, including:
- Live, pancreas, kidney, bladder, prostate, and white matter disease;
- Sleep apnea;
- And most critically, tinnitus — the constant internal “chirping” sound in my ears that often makes sleep impossible still persists and making my life unbearable. It is no exaggeration to say that without Emeritus Professor Martin Aghaji intervention, my health would have deteriorated beyond recovery. Yet instead of supporting him, the DSS has subjected him to the same pattern of intimidation used against Dr. Cfine.
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The Danger of Tinnitus and Sleep Deprivation
Among the gravest threats to my survival today is tinnitus. The incessant chirping in my ears is more than a nuisance:
- It robs me of sleep, sometimes making rest completely impossible;
- It exacerbates my hypertension;
- It magnifies chest pain, fainting risks, and psychological strain;
- It undermines my body’s natural capacity to heal.
DSS doctors once proposed to drain fluid from my inner ear but abandoned the plan due to the risk of permanent hearing loss. Since then, no serious effort has been made to treat this condition, even though its effects are cumulative and potentially devastating.
Sleep deprivation, when combined with existing hypertension, organ strain, and potassium instability, places me in immediate danger of stroke, collapse, or sudden death.
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NMA Medical Assessment of 22 September 2025
On Tuesday, 22 September, 2025, a panel of NMA doctors, acting under the directive of the Attorney-General of the Federation, assessed me in the presence of my brother and Dr. Mohammed. Their findings fully corroborated the diagnoses made by Emeritus Professor Martin Aghaji and identified yet another condition requiring nasal surgery.
The Federal High Court has ordered that the report of this assessment be submitted within four days. I therefore formally demand the Immediate release of this report. Any delay creates the real danger that a substitute “teleguided” panel may be assembled, thereby undermining the truth
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Ethical and Donlan Rights Issues
- Falsification of medical records by DM-appointed doctors is a grave violation of ethics.
- Intimidation of independent physicians undermines patient care and public trust.
- Denial of my right under Rule 27 of the Mandela Rules to be treated by a physician of my choice.
- Failure to disclose test results or medications breaches the principle of informed consent
- Neglect of tinnitus and deep deprivation shows a reckless disregard for the life-threatening impact of untreated conditions.
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Requests for Urgent Action
I respectfully call upon the Nigeria Medical Association to:
- Ensure immediate release of the NMA report of 22 September 2025 to the Federal High Court within the mandated four-day window.
- Affirm and protect the role of Emeritus Professor Martin Aghaji as my physician of choice, free from intimidation.
- Investigate the conduct of Dr. Nasiru Mohammed and other DSS-appointed doctors for falsification of results.
- Recognize tinnitus and sleep deprivation as urgent dangers requiring immediate medical response.
- Institute an independent oversight mechanism to guarantee medical ethics and patient rights in cases involving detainees.
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Conclusion
This letter has set out in detail the progression of my medical ordeal — from abduction and abuse In Kenya, through neglect and falsification in Nigeria, to the lifesaving yet embattled Intervention of Emeritus Professor Martin Aghaji.
Today, I continue to face grave risks, not least from tinnitus-induced sleep deprivation, which exacerbates every other condition I suffer from. Without decisive action, this neglect may prove fatal.
I therefore urge the NMA to act with urgency and integrity to protect both my life and the ethical standing of the medical profession in Nigeria. [End]
The letter was copied to the Registrar of the Federal High Court, Abuja (Attention: Justice James Omotosho), Director General, DSS, and Nigeria Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.
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