Aloy Ejimakor, counsel to Nnamdi Kanu, has called for the urgent transfer of the leader of the proscribed separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) from Sokoto State.
The call comes in the wake of a U.S airstrike on Christmas Day in Sokoto targeting Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) camps, which killed multiple terrorists, according to U.S Africa Command (AFRICOM) in collaboration with Nigerian forces.
Ejimakor argued that the airstrike highlighted the insecurity of Sokoto as a detention site for Kanu, who has been held there since 2021 on terrorism charges.
“The US military strike against terrorists in Sokoto has finally confirmed that Sokoto is riddled with terrorists and thus was never a safe place of custody for MAZI NNAMDI KANU,” Ejimakor said.
“It is now more urgent that he be transferred out of the terrorist belt of Northern Nigeria.”
A Federal High Court in Abuja recently sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment on multiple counts of terrorism.
Justice James Omotosho, concluding Kanu’s trial, sentenced him to life imprisonment for counts one, two, four, five, and six of the seven-count charge prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS).
For count three, relating to membership in a proscribed terrorist group, Kanu received a 20-year jail term without an option of fine.
On count seven, concerning the unlawful importation of a radio transmitter for the operations of Radio Biafra, which is unregistered in Nigeria, the judge sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment without an option of fine.
Justice Omotosho, who noted that Kanu had been unruly throughout the trial, said the law permitted a death sentence for the terrorism charges but exercised mercy in his judgment.
He also ordered that Kanu be kept in protective custody anywhere in the country, except Kuje Prison, Abuja, and that the radio transmitter be forfeited to the Federal Government.
The trial had earlier been marked by disruptions.
Justice Omotosho had removed Kanu from the courtroom after he became disruptive during proceedings.
Three fresh motions filed by Kanu were dismissed by the court for lacking merit, and he had objected to the delivery of the judgment, claiming the court could not proceed without his final written address.
Despite the objections, the judge continued and delivered the final judgment in Kanu’s absence.
