Nnamdi Kanu moved to Sokoto Correctional Facility, Lawyer Ejimakor confirms

The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has been moved from the Department of State Services detention centre in Abuja to a correctional facility in Sokoto, according to his former lawyer and legal consultant, Aloy Ejimakor.

Ejimakor announced the development in a tweet on Friday, expressing worry that the transfer places Kanu far away from his lawyers, family members, and supporters. He urged the Igbo community to remain calm but questioned the rationale behind sending the separatist leader to Sokoto.

He wrote that “when Awolowo was convicted in 1963, he was sent to the East, a neutral zone in his feud with the North,” adding that President Bola Tinubu could still reverse the transfer.

As of Friday evening, the relocation had not been independently verified by PUNCH Online.

Kanu was first arrested in 2015 and charged with treasonable felony, terrorism, and related offences linked to his leadership of IPOB, which is outlawed by the Federal Government. After he escaped from Nigeria, he was rearrested and extradited from Kenya in 2021.

On Thursday, the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced him to life imprisonment after convicting him on seven terrorism-related charges. IPOB has rejected the verdict, insisting it is unlawful and politically motivated.

Justice James Omotosho gave him life sentences on five of the charges, 20 years on one, and five years on another. The court also noted that returning Kanu to Kuje prison could pose security risks and suggested he should be kept in a more secure location.

The Federal Government’s prosecution counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), welcomed the judgment, describing it as a clear message that nobody is above the law.