Headline

Nnamdi Kanu’s Lawyers Deny Being Sacked

Published

4 months ago

June 16, 2023

UPDATE ON TODAY’S VISIT TO OUR INDEFATIGABLE CLIENT – ONYENDU MAZI NNAMDI KANU – AT THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE SERVICES (DSS), ABUJA, WHERE HE IS STILL BEING ILLEGALLY AND UNCONSTITUTIONALLY DETAINED IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT; AND A REJOINDER TO THE FAKE NEWS MAKING ROUND THE SOCIAL MEDIA THAT MAZI NNAMDI KANU’S LEGAL TEAM ABLY LED BY PROF. MIKE OZEKHOME, SAN, HAS PURPORTEDLY BEEN “DISMISSED” BY ONE KINGSLEY KANU ALIAS KANUNTA KANU.

We visited our indefatigable Client – Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu – today, being the 15th day of June, 2023, at the DSS Headquarters, Abuja, to brief him on matters relating to his cases in Court, including his matter coming up on the 20th of June, 2023, before the Federal High Court, Abuja. Matters of concerns relating to his deteriorating medical condition occupied the center stage.

It is important to make the following statements/clarifications:

1) The Medical Doctors that attempted to see Onyendu last week Tuesday being 6th June 2023, were not there to participate in any surgical procedure, but to first meet and interface with Onyendu.

2) The Medical Doctors were expected to consult with our lead counsel- Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN before proceeding with other administrative engagement as we agreed during our meeting of 3rd June, 2023, held with the DSS in the presence of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

3) Biafrans should note and be assured that Onyendu’s legal team, ably led by the legal iroko of our time – Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN, is monitoring every situation around Onyendu. We are not resting on our oars. Hence, there is no cause for alarm. We are thousands of steps ahead of the evil plans of the enemies. Onyendu will be out of the DSS gulag strong and unbroken.

4) In view of the desperate attempt of the enemies to break our rank, the legal team resolved to minimize the information that we make public through my regular updates. Therefore, you will not be receiving updates on our routine visits as regularly as it used to come, except when there is a compelling situation that demands for it.
Several visits to Onyendu, and particularly, the visit of 3rd June 2023, was not publicized because of the nature of the matters discussed, but the relevant persons were duly briefed on the outcomes.

5) May I use this medium to address an obvious defamatory and very disappointing publication which was brought to my attention upon the conclusion of the routine visit, which unarguably, is serving the mischief which the author intended it to serve.

6) Let it be on record that NEITHER KINGSLEY KANU NOR EMMANUEL KANU, had at any point in time briefed me to handle Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s case or even IPOB’s matters. My letters of engagement issued to me since 2015 by Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB is still with me till date.

7) Neither Kingsley Kanu nor anybody acting on his behalf engaged Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN, to represent Onyendu in any matters affecting him. Biafrans and members of the public are aware that Onyendu specifically requested to see Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN upon his abduction and extraordinary rendition to Nigeria. During that meeting, which details are already in the public domain, Onyendu personally briefed Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN to head his legal team. Till date, Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN has done creditably and overwhelmingly well in deploying his advocacy skills in representing Onyendu in all Courts in Nigeria.

cool Further to the above, my briefings with Onyendu today, lasted for over one-hour, during which we discussed pertinent issues concerning his legal and health matters. There was no time during the meeting that Onyendu entertained or expressed any iota of doubt whatsoever on the ability of his indefatigable legal team, ably led by Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN, to defend him. Onyendu, also proceeded to avail me with other important messages to be passed on to his lead counsel which assignments are expected to be conducted within the next 24 hours.

9) Kingsley Kanu in a bid to preempt any exposition I may make after today’s visit proceeded to make the ridiculous publication at exactly 1:57pm Nigerian time, a few minutes before the scheduled visit of 2:00pm. He need not have worried because out of respect and deference to Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, I do not intend to make any such exposition.

10) As you may be aware, right from the 26th of July, 2021, when an order was made by Hon. Justice Binta Nyako, directing the DSS to allow Onyendu access to his lawyers and relatives, upon prior submission of the names of those visiting Onyendu, my chambers has been exclusively submitting names of those visiting Onyendu and this process still subsists. The names are usually shared with Onyendu before clearance is given by the DSS for the visits to take place.

11) Against the backdrop of the foregoing, I wish to unequivocally state that Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu never dismissed, disengaged, neither has he expressed any intention of dismissing his legal team ably led by Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN. Biafrans and indeed the members of the general public are respectively advised to ignore in its entirety, the obviously DEFAMATORY, MISCHIEVOUS, FAKE, REPREHENSIBLE, DENIGRATING, INSULTING AND UNAUTHORIZED Public Notice issued by Kingsley Kanu alias Kanunta Kanu, as it is NOT TRUE.

12) May the general public and indeed Biafrans, be properly guided that the simple reason for dishing out such condemnable falsehood is to ridicule and embarrass Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s legal team ably led by an erudite, foremost and distinguished Senior Advocate of our time – Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN.

13) Kingsley Kanu should be assured that his evil strategies are dead on arrival. There is nothing whatsoever, that will stop or deter Onyendu’s legal team who are tirelessly working day and night to ensure that Onyendu is released unconditionally.

14) In conclusion, Onyendu further used the opportunity offered by my visit to thank Ezigbo UmuChineke for standing shoulder to shoulder with him, particularly all through this trying time. Onyendu assured Ezigbo UmuChineke once again that it shall surely end in Praises. He urges you all to remain firm, steadfast, and unrelenting in your supplications to God.

Furthermore, Onyendu implores Ezigbo UmuChineke to continue to abide by your peaceful conduct as you have consistently demonstrated.

Thank you all, Ezigbo UmuChineke, and remain blessed.

We move!

Signed:
Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, Esq. (KSC)
IPOB’s Lead Counsel
15th June, 2023.

Headline

Diphtheria: Children at risk as 7,202 cases are confirmed in Nigeria

Published

2 hours ago

September 30, 2023

Ifunaya Emeka

A staggering 7,202 cases of diphtheria, a highly contagious bacterial infection that can be fatal without treatment, were confirmed in Nigeria last week.

The outbreak has been particularly severe among children under 14, with three-quarters of cases (73.6%) in this age group.

Most cases have been recorded in Kano state, Nigeria’s second most populous state. In the past three months, there have been 453 deaths from diphtheria in Nigeria.

Diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable disease, but low vaccination rates in Nigeria have made the outbreak possible. Only 42% of children under 15 in Nigeria are fully protected from diphtheria.

Diphtheria symptoms begin with a sore throat and fever. In severe cases, the bacteria produce a toxin that can block the airway, causing difficulty breathing and swallowing. The toxin can also spread to other body parts, causing heart kidney problems and nerve damage.

Save the Children is launching a wide-scale health response in the three most impacted states of Kano, Yobe, and Katsina. The organization is deploying expert health and supply chain staff to help overstretched clinics detect and treat diphtheria cases and to support mass vaccination campaigns.

However, Save the Children warns that a mass vaccination campaign will only be successful if the vaccine shortage is urgently addressed.

Severe shortages in Nigeria of the required vaccine and the antitoxin needed to treat the disease mean that the situation could continue to escalate, placing many children at risk of severe illness and death.

Headline

WHO releases $16m to tackle cholera, says Director-General

Published

1 day ago

September 29, 2023

Ifunaya Emeka

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released 16 million dollars from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies to tackle cholera.

Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General said this during an online news conference.

Ghebreyesus said that the organisation was providing essential supplies, coordinating the on the ground response with partners, supporting countries to detect, prevent and treat cholera, and informing people how to protect themselves.

“To support this work, we have appealed for 160 million dollars, and we have released more than 16 million dollars from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies.

“But the real solution to cholera lies in ensuring everyone has access to safe water and sanitation, which is an internationally recognized human right,” he said.

According to him, in the previous week, WHO published new data showing that cases reported in 2022 were more than double those in 2021.

He said that the preliminary data for 2023 suggested was likely to be even worse.

“So far, 28 countries have reported cases in 2023 compared with 16 during the same period in 2022.

“The countries with the most concerning outbreaks right now are Ethiopia, Haiti, Iraq and Sudan.

“Significant progress has been made in countries in Southern Africa, including Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, but these countries remain at risk as the rainy season approaches,” Ghebreyesus said.

According to him, the worst affected countries and communities are poor, without access to safe drinking water or toilets.

He said that they also face shortages of oral cholera vaccine and other supplies, as well as overstretched health workers, who are dealing with multiple disease outbreaks and other health emergencies.

On COVID-19, Ghebreyesus said that as the northern hemisphere winter approaches, the organisation continued to see concerning trends.

He said that among the relatively few countries that report them, both hospitalisations and ICU admissions have increased in the past 28 days, particularly in the Americas and Europe.

WHO boss said that meanwhile, vaccination levels among the most at-risk groups remained worryingly low.

“Two-thirds of the world’s population has received a complete primary series, but only one-third has received an additional, or “booster” dose.

“COVID-19 may no longer be the acute crisis it was two years ago, but that does not mean we can ignore it,” he said.

According to him, countries invested so much in building their systems to respond to COVID-19.

He urged countries to sustain those systems, to ensure people can be protected, tested and treated for COVID-19 and other infectious threats.

“That means sustaining systems for collaborative surveillance, community protection, safe and scalable care, access to countermeasures and coordination,” he said.