Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has filed a N50 billion lawsuit against the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), accusing the organisation of submitting a “fabricated” medical report that certified him fit to stand trial.
The suit, lodged at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, challenges the findings of a panel set up by the NMA president on the orders of a federal high court.
The dispute began after Justice James Omotosho directed the NMA on September 26 to conduct an independent medical assessment of Kanu, who has repeatedly claimed that his health has worsened while in the custody of the Department of State Services. His legal team previously told the court that he was suffering from liver and pancreatic complications, a lump under his armpit, and dangerously low potassium levels, and asked for his transfer to the National Hospital in Abuja.
But when the NMA panel presented its report in open court on October 16, it concluded that Kanu was medically fit to continue standing trial an outcome that has now triggered a fresh legal challenge. In the new filing, submitted through lawyer Maxwell Opara, Kanu alleges that the panel never met or examined him, accusing its members of forging the document that was presented to the court.
The NMA, its president Bala Audi, and the ten doctors who formed the investigative team were all named as defendants. Court documents claim the panel “prepared and submitted a false report” dated September 23, 2025, which Kanu says misled the court and resulted in further denial of proper medical treatment.
He argues that the report not only downplayed his health condition but also contributed to a worsening of his physical and psychological well-being.
Kanu is asking the court to declare that his rights to dignity and fair hearing were violated and to compel the NMA to withdraw and publicly retract the report. He is also seeking an order for a fresh and truly independent medical examination by specialists unconnected to the association, alongside a perpetual injunction stopping the NMA from issuing or relying on what he calls unverified medical assessments about him.
Beyond the N50 billion in general damages he is seeking for health complications, emotional distress, and reputational harm, he is also demanding an additional N500 million as exemplary damages for what he describes as deliberate misconduct and abuse of professional authority by the medical panel.
The case adds another layer to the ongoing legal battles surrounding Kanu’s detention and health status, a matter that has been the subject of intense public attention and political debate since his arrest and extradition to Nigeria in 2021.