Kanu sues NMA for N50b over ‘false medical report’ on health status

The Abia State House of Assembly has formally written to President Bola Tinubu to appeal for the unconditional release of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

The appeal follows a resolution passed by the House on November 10, describing Kanu’s prolonged detention as a matter of urgent public importance.

Meanwhile, Kanu has filed a N50 billion lawsuit against the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) for allegedly submitting a false medical report in his terrorism trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The Abia assembly resolution, moved by the Deputy Speaker Austin Meregini (Umuahia East State Constituency), urged Tinubu to invoke Section 174(c) of the Constitution, which empowers the Attorney-General of the Federation to enter a nolle prosequi and terminate criminal proceedings before judgement is delivered.

The House also cited the recent presidential pardon granted by Tinubu as a precedent for compassionate intervention. In the open letter to the President, the 24-member House highlighted Kanu’s detention history, noting that he was first arrested in 2015 and detained for over two years before being granted bail.

Kanu later fled Nigeria following a military invasion of his home, which reportedly resulted in multiple deaths. In 2021, he was transferred from Kenya to Nigeria, an act the House described as a violation of his rights and international law.

The letter appealed to Tinubu to consider Kanu’s release as a gesture of goodwill, stressing that it could contribute to peace, stability and national reconciliation in the South-East.

The House described the release as a constructive political measure that aligns with the President’s vision for a united and prosperous Nigeria. The open letter was signed by all 24 members of the Assembly, including the Speaker.

KANU, in his fresh suit at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Abuja, also sought an order compelling the NMA to conduct a proper, independent medical examination of him by competent specialists not connected with the defendants in the instant suit.

The IPOB leader sued as defendants the NMA, its president, Bala Audi, and members of the team that issued the medical report, including medical doctors Benjamin Egbon, Prof Emem Abraham, Ajibare Adeola, Temitope Farombi, Sunday Owolade, Mustapha Salihu, Yarima Yusuf, Nwosu Ekeoma and Benjamin Olowojebutu.

The suit, marked CV/4584/25 and filed on November 12 by lawyer Maxwell Opara, was made available to journalists on Saturday. The disputed medical report, which is at the heart of the new lawsuit, prompted Judge James Omotosho, who oversees Kanu’s terrorism trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja, to declare him medically fit to continue facing prosecution last month.

Kanu, who is standing trial on terrorism charges over his secessionist activities calling for the independence of Nigeria’s Igbo-dominated South-East and some parts of the neighbouring states as Biafra, has been in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS) in Abuja since June 2021.

The Nigerian government accused him in the case of carrying out terrorist activities, including broadcasting threats and inciting violence and killings in the region, to achieve the secessionist goal. (THE GUARDIAN)