By Charles Igbo

Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s wife has made an angry appeal to the Honourable Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja. “Don’t allow my husband to die in detention. Does his life not matter to you?, she asked  the trial Judge of the Federal High Court Abuja on Thursday, October 16, in an open letter to him.

Her husband is being prosecuted in Omotosho’s Court for sundry issues, including treasonable felony.

Her appeal comes on the heels of the confirmation, through a medical assessment orderd by the Judge, that the IPOB Leader is strong enough to stand trial, and that the medical facilities and the Medical team at the Department of State Services, DSS, where Kanu has been in detention since 2021, are capable of taking care of his health.

Kanu’s personal Doctor and the DSS had disagreed over the status of Kanu’s health and the capability of the DSS Medical and the facilities at their hospital to handle Kanu’s ailment. While his Doctor wrote off the facilities at the DSS, and recommended that Kanu be transferred to the National Hospital, Abuja, or a hospital outside the Country for urgent treatment, the Agency thought otherwise.

The disagreement prompted Justice Omotosho to direct the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, to set up a Medical Team to assess Kanu and determine his state of health.

The result of the assessment was made public in Court on Thursday, October 16. And the findings: Kanu is fit to stand trial, and both the DSS hospital and Medical Team, capable of handling him. The team also said he was in no immediate danger.

But an outraged Kanu’s wife disagrees. She said her husband’s health was not only bad, but critical. Her appeal to the Judge: “Ignore the presentation of the Medical team, it is not correct. There was no assessment. Save my husband’s life.” She was also worried about the delay in concluding the case and told the Judge not to make her lose the  confidence she reposed reposed in him.

Her letter reads in part:

“When Your Lordship took over Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s case in 2025, if my memory isn’t failing me, I believed strongly justice was at hand having read about your impeccable reputation and astute judgement. However, with the recent happening in  Court, I can only wonder if the attributes were exaggerated.

“My despondency stems from two main reasons: The current indecisiveness in every court sittings which is a big contrast to the ‘accelerated hearing’  you called for when you came on board, stating how the matter had lingered for too long, putting in cognizance Nnamdi Kanu as a father, husband, brother and son. The dramatic turn of events is looking like a deliberate plan to keep stalling the case while the defendant  languishes in the DSS dungeon.

“The deteriorating health of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was caused primarily as a result of the torture and the inhumane treatment meted out on him when he was illegally brought back to Nigeria from Kenya. He was dumped in a dark, poorly ventilated cell in the DSS dungeon, with no access to treat his wounds or reach out to his loved ones.

Your Lordship, you mandated the Nigerian Medical Association to conduct a medical assessment on the defendant because obviously, you were in doubt of MNK’s seasoned doctors. The body never conducted nor submitted any medical report as reported. Rather the DSS came up with a disjointed report which was reportedly presented in Court today unethically.

“Your Lordship, you are not ignorant of the medical system in Nigeria, reason virtually all politicians, office holders, the elites, etc, fly to other countries with their kids for medical attention, including the President and Commander- in-Chief of the Armed Forces, because they lack faith in their own country’s medical system. I can, also, guess you do the same

“Why then will Your Lordship, deny Mazi Nnamdi Kanu the opportunity to be transferred to at least any manageable hospital in Abuja rather than subjecting him to that poorly-equipped DSS health centre, the same environment, and same people that kept him in that condition?

“In one of the Court sittings, you mentioned that MNK has to be alive and healthy to stand for this case. What changed Your Lordship? Why is MNK’s failing health not being taken seriously? Does his life not matter to you? I make bold to say that Nnamdi Kanu has been victimised for too long.”

At Thursday’s hearing Justice Omotosho asked Kanu to open his defence on October 23 and conclude it on October 30.

The Honourable Justice Omotosho is the second Judge to handle Kanu’s case. The first Judge, the Honourable Justice Binta Nyako was asked by Kanu to recuse herself from the case  She did.