Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The family of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has accused the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) of systematically harassing the independent physicians who provided him with medical care, alleging that the agencies are targeting the doctors even as the core medical issues remain pending before the Court of Appeal. In a statement issued on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, by Prince Emmanuel Kanu on behalf of the Okwu-Kanu Family of Umuahia, Abia State, the family detailed what it described as a coordinated campaign of intimidation against Emeritus Professor Dr. Martin Aghaji, Dr. Charles Ndukwu, and every member of Kanu's independent medical team.
The family claimed that Kanu's health was "systematically neglected and mismanaged" while he was in DSS custody, alleging that state-appointed doctors allowed his condition to deteriorate to a life-threatening level. According to the statement, Kanu suffered from critically low potassium levels that dropped to 1.9 mmol/L—a level capable of triggering cardiac arrest and sudden death—alongside poorly managed hypertension, deteriorating kidney function, and untreated cardiac abnormalities, including Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction and Cardiac Septal Hypertrophy. The family said that when Emeritus Professor Dr. Martin Aghaji and his independent medical team finally gained access to Kanu, they found him on the brink of collapse. Through their intervention, his potassium level rose from 2.1 to 2.9 mmol/L, while episodes of nosebleeds, fainting, light-headedness, swollen feet, and persistent headaches subsided significantly.
"The DSS did not save Mazi Nnamdi Kanu's life. His personal physicians did," the family declared, adding that the intervention of the independent physicians prevented what had become an imminent risk of catastrophic medical deterioration. However, instead of being commended, the family alleged that the doctors have since faced intimidation and persecution. The DSS reportedly lodged a complaint against Professor Aghaji with the MDCN, accusing him of unethical conduct for adjusting Kanu's medications—adjustments the independent medical team considered clinically necessary. "This is the cruel irony: the DSS mismanaged his health to the point of near-death, and now seeks to punish the doctors who rescued him," the family said.
The family further alleged that Professor Aghaji was abducted by armed men believed to be DSS operatives after Kanu had been transferred from DSS custody to the Nigerian Correctional Service. According to the statement, the professor was flown from his location to Abuja, then to Lagos, and held for two nights before being released. Another member of the medical team, Dr. Charles Ndukwu, has also been summoned to appear before the MDCN Investigation Panel. The family described the actions as a coordinated campaign to silence every doctor who documented the truth and provided the care the DSS failed to deliver.
The family maintained that the controversy surrounding the medical examinations of September 2025 is already before the Court of Appeal and argued that the continued investigation of the physicians could compromise matters pending before the court. In a petition forwarded to the Registrar of the MDCN and to the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Kanu urged the regulatory bodies to intervene, insisting that his life remained in danger and that the harassment of his medical team was continuing despite legal proceedings. He also alleged that his medical records were falsified by state-appointed doctors and noted that his earlier petition to the NMA dated September 29, 2025, had yet to receive a response.
Among the demands made by the family are the immediate cessation of all harassment, intimidation, and legal persecution of the physicians; the withdrawal of the MDCN summons issued to Dr. Ndukwu and the suspension of all proceedings against Professor Aghaji; a full and transparent investigation into the alleged falsification of medical records during DSS custody; and unrestricted and private access for Kanu to his chosen physicians under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Nigerian Correctional Service. The family also called on the MDCN to issue a public statement affirming that no doctor shall be penalised for providing independent, evidence-based medical care to any patient, regardless of custodial status.
The family said copies of its petition had been forwarded to the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel, as well as relevant Nigerian institutions and international human rights organisations. As of the time of this report, the DSS and the MDCN had not issued an official response to the allegations.
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