Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has dismissed claims that governors from the South East have abandoned the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

Speaking during a media parley on Thursday night in Umuahia, the state capital, Otti stressed that quiet but firm efforts were ongoing to secure Kanu’s release.

The governor explained that while not all the steps being taken were made public, engagements were ongoing with relevant authorities at different levels.

“Some of the engagements and assurances we have received are not for public consumption since it may derail the process. But as his Governor, I’m at the forefront of ensuring he comes back home. All the South East governors are together in this,” Otti said.

His clarification followed a protest staged on Wednesday by Igbo elders at the Government House, Umuahia, over Kanu’s continued incarceration. The elders accused political leaders in the zone of neglecting the IPOB leader and urged Otti to rally his colleagues to directly engage President Bola Tinubu on the matter.

Meanwhile, one of Kanu’s lawyers, Onyedikachi Ifedi, has accused the Department of State Services (DSS) of lying about his client’s medical condition, insisting that the agency is not clinically competent to manage his health.

In a statement on Wednesday night, Ifedi alleged that the DSS has been playing “hide-and-seek” with Kanu’s treatment despite his critical cardiovascular challenges.

He faulted recent DSS claims dismissing concerns over Kanu’s health, describing them as “propaganda churned out through willing media collaborators.”

Ifedi further queried why the DSS had to fly Kanu’s blood samples to South Africa if, as it claimed, nothing was wrong with him.

“A security agency that does not even understand the clinical implications of aortic valve regurgitation or congestive heart failure has no business presuming to oversee the healthcare of a man whose life is already endangered by its reckless detention conditions,” he said.

The lawyer also alleged that DSS operatives intimidate doctors into altering medical reports to align with government narratives and mislead the courts.

He vowed that Kanu’s legal team would continue to expose every falsehood and press for proper medical attention for their client.