08/05/2026
PRESS STATEMENT: 5th August 2026
Issued by: Prince Emmanuel Kanu
On behalf of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, detained at Sokoto Correctional Centre, Sokoto State, Nigeria
PRESS STATEMENT: 5th August 2026
The Okwu-Kanu Family hereby issues this urgent press statement to expose the systematic harassment of Mazi Nnamdi Kanuโs independent physicians by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN)โharassment that continues even though the core medical issues are sub judice and pending before the Court of Appeal.
The DSS Mismanaged Mazi Kanuโs Health and Now Seeks to Punish the Physicians Who Intervened
While in DSS custody, Mazi Nnamdi Kanuโs health was systematically neglected and mismanaged.
According to the independent medical team, state-appointed doctors allowed his potassium levels to fall to a life-threatening 1.9 mmol/Lโa level capable of triggering cardiac arrest and sudden death. His hypertension remained poorly controlled, his kidney function deteriorated to established renal impairment, and serious cardiac abnormalitiesโincluding Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction and Cardiac Septal Hypertrophyโwent untreated.
When Emeritus Professor Dr. Martin Aghaji and his independent medical team finally gained access, they found a man on the brink of collapse. Through their professional intervention, his potassium level rose from 2.1 to 2.9 mmol/Lโstill below safe levels, but a clear demonstration of genuine medical progress. Episodes of nosebleeds, fainting, light-headedness and swollen feet ceased. His headaches subsided to an occasional level.
The DSS did not save Mazi Nnamdi Kanuโs life. His personal physicians did. Their intervention, in the familyโs view, prevented what had become an imminent risk of catastrophic medical deterioration.
Instead of being commended for this intervention, these physicians are now being harassed, intimidated and persecuted by the very agency whose medical management, according to the family, had left Mazi Kanu in a life-threatening condition. The DSS lodged a complaint against Professor Aghaji with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), alleging โunethical practicesโ for adjusting medications which 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 Purported Medical Report and the Sub Judice Matter:
On 26 September 2025, the Federal High Court ordered the President of the Nigerian Medical Association to constitute an investigative panel to examine Mazi Kanuโs health status.
A purported medical report dated prior to that orderโand not sanctioned by the NMAโhas been relied upon in ways that, in the familyโs view, misrepresented his true condition. The matter concerning the court-ordered examination of 26 September 2025 is now before the Court of Appeal and is strictly sub judice. Mazi Kanu is not seeking to re-litigate that issue in the petition. He is seeking only to stop the continuing harassment of his physicians and to secure access to independent medical care under the exclusive custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service.
The Abduction of Professor Martin Aghaji:
Emeritus Professor Dr. Martin Aghaji, the globally respected cardiothoracic surgeon who independently documented the truth about Mazi Kanuโs health, was abducted in the dead of night by armed men believed to be DSS operatives. He was first flown to Abuja, then to Lagos, and held for two harrowing nights before being released.
This abduction, the family alleges, occurred after Mazi Kanu was no longer in DSS custody. Professor Aghaji was targeted, the family maintains, for the simple act of telling the truth about his patientโs condition and for intervening to prevent further deterioration.
The MDCN Summons Against Dr. Charles Ndukwu:
The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria has formally summoned Dr. Charles Ndukwu, another member of Mazi Kanuโs independent medical team, to appear before its Investigation Panel. This is no longer an isolated action against one physician. It is a coordinated campaign, in the familyโs view, to silence every doctor who documented the truth and provided the care the DSS failed to provide.
These Matters Are Sub Judice:
The controversy surrounding the medical examinations of September 2025 is pending before the Court of Appeal. The continuing harassment of Professor Aghaji and Dr. Ndukwu raises serious concerns that independent medical witnesses may be intimidated and that evidence relevant to the pending appeal may be compromised.
The Family Demands:
Immediate cessation of all harassment, intimidation and legal persecution of Professor Martin Aghaji, Dr. Charles Ndukwu, and every member of Mazi Kanuโs independent medical team;
Withdrawal of the MDCN summons issued to Dr. Charles Ndukwu and suspension of all proceedings against Professor Aghaji;
A full and transparent investigation into the alleged falsification of medical records during DSS custody;
An official explanation from the DSS regarding the abduction and detention of Professor Aghaji, which the family alleges occurred without legal authority and after Mazi Kanu had left DSS custody;
A public statement from the MDCN affirming that no doctor shall be penalised for providing independent, evidence-based medical care to any patient, regardless of custodial status;
Unrestricted and private access for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to his chosen physicians under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Nigerian Correctional Service;
Immediate assumption by the Nigerian Correctional Service of full legal responsibility for his healthcare in accordance with the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019 and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Mandela Rules).
International Notification:
Copies of the formal petition have been transmitted to the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom and the State of Israel, as well as to relevant Nigerian institutions and international human-rights organisations. The alleged abduction of a physician and the systematic suppression of independent medical evidence raise serious concerns under international human-rights standards, including the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Mandela Rules) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The Okwu-Kanu Family calls on the Nigerian authorities to respect the principle of sub judice and to cease all extra-judicial harassment of medical practitioners who have simply discharged their professional duty.
The targeting of physicians who documented the truth and intervened to prevent further deterioration is, in the familyโs view, an assault on the integrity of the medical profession and on the rule of law itself.
The DSS did not save Mazi Nnamdi Kanuโs life. His personal physicians did. And for that, they are being punished.
We urge the media, the Nigerian public and the international community to take note of these grave concerns and to insist on full accountability.
Signed:
Prince Emmanuel Kanu
On behalf of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and the Okwu-Kanu Family
For media enquiries, please contact authorised family spokespersons only.