ABUJA (BN24)— The Nigerian government has transferred Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), from the Department of State Services (DSS) detention facility in Abuja to a correctional centre in Sokoto State, according to his lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor. The announcement came on Friday, one day after Kanu was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment on terrorism charges by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Ejimakor disclosed the development in a post on X, saying Kanu was moved “so far away from his lawyers, family, loved ones, and well-wishers.” His statement sparked immediate reaction from supporters and human rights observers concerned about the distance and potential impact on legal access as the defence prepares for an appeal.
Kanu’s legal team has sharply condemned Thursday’s ruling delivered by Justice James Omotosho, which found the IPOB leader guilty on terrorism-related counts. The defence described the decision as “a travesty of justice” and said it would challenge the verdict at the Court of Appeal.
Speaking to journalists after the judgment, Ejimakor called the ruling “a dark day in Nigeria’s judicial history,” arguing that Kanu was convicted solely for statements he made rather than any violent actions. “Today is the only day I have witnessed a man being convicted for just what he said from his mouth, not what he did with his own hands,” he said.
He insisted that the prosecution failed to present evidence linking Kanu’s broadcasts to acts of violence or terrorism. “The verdict is not consistent with the evidence laid before the court. The sentence is overbroad, cruel, and unusual,” he said, questioning how a broadcast from an unspecified location could form the basis for a terrorism conviction.
Ejimakor argued that Kanu’s campaign for self-determination was not a crime under Nigerian or international law. “Mazi Nnamdi Kanu made broadcasts, and so what? You convict him for terrorism for mere words in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. What kind of precedent is being laid?” he said.
The legal team said it would proceed immediately to the Court of Appeal. “We are going to approach the justices there to check out what happened here today,” Ejimakor said. “If the Court of Appeal disagrees with us, we will head to the Supreme Court. By God Almighty, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is not going to stand convicted. It is going to get overturned.”
Another defence lawyer, Maxwell Okpara, also criticized the ruling, claiming it was influenced by emotion rather than grounded in legal reasoning. He called for calm in the South-East, urging supporters to refrain from violence as the legal process continues. Okpara expressed confidence that higher courts would correct what he described as a grave miscarriage of justice.
Kanu’s transfer to Sokoto marks a new chapter in a case that has drawn international attention, heightened tensions in the South-East, and intensified debate over free expression, national security, and the rights of political dissidents in Nigeria.
