Justice Musa Liman of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has declined hearing of a motion filed by Biafra nation agitator, Nnamdi Kanu, seeking an order transferring him from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) to the National Hospital in Abuja for urgent medical attention.
The judge declined hearing on the ground that his fiat to sit as a vacation judge ends today and therefore he lacked jurisdiction to open such a new matter for hearing.
Justice Liman instead ordered that the case file be returned to the registry for the Chief Judge to reassign it to another judge and he said that he would make a recommendation to the Chief Judge for the speedy hearing of the motion since the health of the applicant is involved.
Kanu had sought an order of the court for the Department of State Services (DSS) to move him from DSS custody to the National Hospital for urgent medical care.
Giving an 11-ground argument why their request should be granted, lead counsel to the applicant, Kanu Agabi, SAN, said his client is presently standing trial before Justice James Omotosho in charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015.
Kanu had filed an application praying the court to admit him to bail pending the hearing and determination of the terrorism charge.
The lawyer, however, said that the said application could not be taken before the annual vacation of the court, hence his continued detention.
According to him, while awaiting the resumption of the court activities, the applicant’s health took a worrisome decline, necessitating the invitation of doctors for the purpose of carrying out a thorough and extensive examination on the applicant.
The examination revealed issues to his health including organs such as his pancreas and liver as well as an emerging lump underneath his armpit and dangerously low levels of potassium.
The doctors have recommended that he be moved to the National Hospital as an interim measure to afford him medical attention and forestall further decline.
He alleged that a letter by the doctors to the Director-General of the DSS, advising the transfer of Kanu, had gone without answer.
He said the urgency of the matter had, therefore, necessitated the filing of the application as a measure to arrest further decline of his health while spirited efforts are being expended to ensure his treatment.
The senior lawyer said that the grant of the application would not occasion any injustice on the complainant (DSS).
Emmanuel Kanu, the younger brother to Nnamdi Kanu, in the affidavit he deposed to, averred that the IPOB leader recently complained of weakness and pains in his body.
Emmanuel said the doctor told him, at Agabi’s law firm, that it was discovered that the IPOB leader was suffering from issues relating to his liver and kidney as well as dangerously low levels of potassium.
Dailypost/Fathia Oladoyin
