Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has issued Osagie Ehanire,
Minister of Health, seven days to publish the full report of the
investigation into the mysterious deaths in Kano State.
There have been controversies in Kano over the mysterious death of over 600 persons in the state.
Falana, in a letter addressed to Ehanire on Sunday asked the federal
government to take over the situation of Kano, adding that the state
government is overwhelmed.
He expressed concern over the burials conducted in the state without any official information from the government.
The statement reads in part: “During a press briefing held at Abuja a
week ago, you announced that the Federal Ministry of Health, the Kano
State Chief Epidemiologist, Officials of the Kano Public Health
Department and those of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)
had commenced investigation into the strange deaths and mass burials
currently going on in Kano State.
“We are disturbed by the burials which have since continued without any official information on the cause of the strange deaths.
“The people of Kano State and Nigerians, in general, are worried over
the worsening health crisis as it may spread to other parts of Kano
State not yet affected as well as other parts of the country if not
urgently addressed. But since the Kano State Government is completely
overwhelmed, we hereby, call on the Federal Government to take over the
management of the crisis without any further delay.He further requested for the certified true copy of the report of the
joint investigation by the Federal and Kano State Ministries of Health
into the strange deaths in the state.Falana mentioned that the request was made pursuant to provisions of
the Freedom of Information Act, and Ehanire is required to publish the
report, “within seven days of the receipt of this letter”.“The report should include the nature and cause of the deaths, the
number of casualties and patients currently undergoing treatment in
hospitals as well as an outline of the measures being put in place by
the Federal Government to stop the strange deaths involving mass
burials.“If you fail to accede to our request, we shall not hesitate to
invoke the relevant provisions of the law to compel official disclosure
of the findings of the joint team constituted to investigate the cause
of the strange deaths and mass burials in Kano State,” the statement
added.
