From Olalekan Awojodu, Abuja
Justice Binta Nyako of the Abuja division of the Federal High Court Wednesday granted the application of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, to access medicare.
Subsequent upon this development, the embattled Kanu can now apply for an order of mandamus compelling the Department of State Service (DSS) to allow him to have unhindered access to his medical doctors.
In a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/ 2341/2022, Kanu said he would need his doctors to conduct an independent examination to ascertain his state of health.
Kanu listed some of the records he would require from the DSS, to include his admission records, medical and clinical notes, nursing notes, observation charts and documentation during treatment or stay-in-hospital, laboratory test results, pharmaceutical records, radiological scans, images and reports, blood transfusion records, physiotherapy and rehabilitative treatment records, clinical findings, as well as diagnosis and treatment prescribed records.
The ex parte application among others sought an order granting him leave to, “apply for judicial review in the form of an order of mandamus, compelling the respondents to allow him unhindered access to his medical doctors to enable them to conduct an independent examination of his present deteriorating health condition, as earlier ordered by the Federal High Court, Abuja, Coram, Hon. Justice BFM Nyako, on October 21, 2021; and as required by the express provisions of section 7 of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017.”
“An order of the Court granting leave to the Applicant to apply for judicial review in the form of an order of mandamus, compelling the Respondents to avail the Applicant with all his medical records, from the 29th day of June 2021, till date.”
After hearing from Kanu’s legal team headed by Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN, and Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, Justice Binta Nyako granted the application.
After adjourning the matter till February 21, the court further directed Kanu’s legal team to serve all the relevant processes on both the DSS and its Director General, who were cited as 1st and 2nd Respondents in the matter.
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