From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has expressed anger over failure by the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) to submit medical report of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu at its ongoing trial on Tuesday.
In a ruling on September 26, James Omotosho, presiding judge, had issued an order directing the president of NMA to constitute an investigative panel to ascertain the health condition of the defendant.
Omotosho gave the directive while ruling on an application seeking to move Kanu from the Department of State Services (DSS) custody to the National Hospital in the federal capital territory (FCT) for treatment.
The IPOB leader claimed that his health had deteriorated in detention, citing medical reports that revealed liver and pancreatic complications, a lump under his armpit, and dangerously low potassium levels.
But the prosecution had opposed the application, insisting that the Federal Government had provided Kanu with adequate care in detention.
When the case came up, NMA said it was yet to ascertain the health status of Kanu.
Spokesperson of IPOB, Emma Powerful, condemned the NMA’s action in a statement, noting that its absence had stalled the proceeding.
It described the flaw by the institution as mockery of the judiciary. “We note with utter dismay the latest judicial mockery that unfolded October 8 at the Federal High Court Abuja, where the absence of the Nigerian Medical Association’s (NMA’s) medical report once again stalled proceedings in the so-called terrorism trial of our leader.
“The fiasco epitomises the complete collapse of governance and ethics within Nigeria’s public institutions. A court of law issued a clear order directing the NMA to furnish it with Kanu’s certified medical report; instead of complying with the judicial authority, the NMA chose to play politics and defy the order.
“Nowhere in any civilised democracy would a professional body openly disregard a subsisting court order without consequence.
“IPOB condemns the reckless and unethical decision of the NMA to submit our leader’s private and confidential medical records to the Attorney-General of the Federation… (AGF), the very chief persecutor responsible for his ordeal.
“This is a criminal violation of the doctor-patient confidentiality protected under both the Nigerian law and the international medical ethics. By delivering a confidential report to the AGF instead of to the court or the patient, the NMA has disgraced itself before the world and betrayed every moral code of medical practice.”
Also shifting the blame on the judge, IPOB said: “Justice Omotosho, who presides over this politically-charged case, failed to exercise the authority vested in him by law to halt this circus of injustice. A fair-minded court, confronted with such blatant prosecutorial misconduct, ought to have terminated the trial forthwith.
“The Attorney-General’s office has, by this act, procured an illegally obtained medical document yet refused to tender it in open court, confirming once more that the Nigerian state operates outside the bounds of law, morality and decency.”
Explaining the degree of Kanu’s medical condition, it said: “Let it be known that no hospital in Nigeria has successfully diagnosed or treated the life-threatening potassium depletion afflicting Kanu.
“His condition aggravated by sleep apnea, angina and torture-induced tinnitus remains critical. The same agents who abducted, tortured and renditioned him from Kenya are now pretending to treat him. This travesty must end.
“Whether the NMA brings a “new” report or fabricates one tomorrow, the facts remain immutable: the Nigerian state has committed gross human-rights violations and continues to persecute a man whose only crime is speaking for his oppressed people.
“IPOB demands Kanu’s immediate and unconditional release, in compliance with international law and existing court judgments. We also demand a full, independent medical examination conducted by an international team appointed by the African Union and ECOWAS Court.
“The continued manipulation of the judicial process and the suppression of medical evidence amount to slow, state-sanctioned murder. Moreover, Justice Omotosho lost every right to preside over this case when he failed and continues to fail to acknowledge the repeal of Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act 2013, which is the charging statute. Justice Omotosho is sitting without jurisdiction and he knows it.
“Nigeria must know that justice delayed is not justice denied but justice destroyed. The world is watching.”
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