Following a Federal High Court ruling, the Department of State Services (DSS) has relocated Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the banned Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), to the Nigerian Custodial Centre in Sokoto.
Mazi Kanu was sentenced to life imprisonment on Thursday by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja, after being found guilty on seven counts of terrorism.
The judge upheld the DSS’s claim that Kanu employed terror tactics in his campaign for the secession of southeastern, south-south, and parts of Benue and Kogi states from Nigeria.
Justice Omotosho directed that Kanu be transferred to any correctional facility outside Kuje, Abuja, which led to his move to Sokoto.
Aloy Ejimakor, Kanu’s former lawyer, confirmed the transfer via social media, expressing concern that relocating him far from family, supporters, and legal counsel complicates access.
Ejimakor drew a historical parallel, noting that political detainees like Awolowo were traditionally sent to neutral locations.
Kanu was first detained in 2015 on charges of treasonable felony and terrorism and later extradited from Kenya in 2021 after fleeing Nigeria.
