The Federal High Court in Abuja will today (Monday) hear an application filed by Nnamdi Kanu, detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), seeking transfer from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) to the National Hospital, Abuja, for urgent medical attention.

The motion, filed on September 3 by Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), followed what Kanu’s lawyers described as a “worrisome decline” in his health while in detention.

Vacation judge, Justice Musa Liman, had earlier granted leave for the case to be heard during the court’s annual recess, stressing its urgency.

In a supporting affidavit, Emmanuel Kanu, the IPOB leader’s brother, said recent medical tests revealed kidney and liver complications, dangerously low potassium levels, and a swelling under Kanu’s armpit requiring immediate investigation.

Agabi told the court that doctors led by Prof. Austin Agaji had advised Kanu’s transfer to the National Hospital as an interim step. He noted that letters to the DSS on the issue had not been answered.

“The applicant’s health is seriously deteriorating considering the nature of his confinement,” Agabi argued, adding that granting the transfer would not prejudice the DSS.

Kanu has been in DSS custody since 2021 following his arrest in Kenya and repatriation to Nigeria. He is currently facing terrorism-related charges before Justice James Omotosho of the same court.

A bail application filed in May is still pending. The court is expected to hear arguments from both sides before ruling on the transfer request today.

Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) says the federal government’s removal of petrol subsidies was not a domestic policy choice but a condition imposed by international lenders.

Speaking on Sunday Politics on Channels Television, Falana argued that no country in the world has fully abolished subsidies.

“Even the United States, the United Kingdom, France and others subsidise electricity, agriculture and many aspects of people’s lives,” he said.

Falana accused the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of pressuring Nigeria to scrap the policy.

President Bola Tinubu announced the end of petrol subsidy during his inauguration on May 29, 2023, alongside a foreign exchange market unification policy. Both measures triggered record inflation and worsening living standards.

Falana also warned against the federal government’s plan to introduce a five percent fuel surcharge, urging it not to worsen economic hardship. He said existing laws already mandated a fuel levy, but funds were never remitted to the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA).

Between 2007 and 2011, Falana said FERMA confirmed it received nothing despite deductions from petrol sales.

“By 2022, even the Senate confirmed that over one trillion naira was owed to FERMA. Before introducing new levies, the government must explain what happened to those earlier deductions,” he said.

Falana also called for an end to the dollarisation of the economy, stressing that rejecting the naira remains a criminal offence.

Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, says Nigeria’s history cannot be written without Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.

Obi stated this on Sunday during a visit to Rashidi Ladoja, the Olubadan-designate, at his Bodija residence.

He praised Ibadan’s central role in Nigeria’s political and socio-economic development and commended its people for their hospitality.

“The position of Ibadan in the history of Nigeria cannot be ignored as a home to all because of the hospitable nature of the indigenes,” Obi said.

He described Ladoja, a former governor and senator, as a leader whose experience will shape his reign as the 44th Olubadan of Ibadanland. Obi also pledged personal support to the incoming monarch.

In response, Ladoja said ascending the throne was “another opportunity to serve humanity,” stressing that the Olubadan stool is not about glamour but service.

“It is God who enthroned Olubadan, not because you have money or influential people around you. The time of glamour is gone; it is about service and what you have on the table for the people,” he said.