A Federal High Court in Abuja has declined to issue an order compelling prison authorities in Sokoto to bring detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, to the capital for the formal settlement of appeal records in his terrorism case.
Kanu’s legal team had applied for a production warrant, arguing that his continued detention in Sokoto—thousands of kilometres from Abuja, was undermining his constitutional right to appeal his conviction and life sentence. They insisted that his presence in Abuja was essential for the settling of records, consultation with counsel, and preparation of the appeal.
The court, however, refused to grant the request, effectively leaving Kanu in Sokoto while the appeal process moves forward. Kanu’s lead counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, faulted the decision, warning that it places serious obstacles in the way of his client’s fair-hearing rights under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution. He stressed that the logistics of travelling to and from Sokoto, as well as difficulties in accessing case files and interacting with Kanu, could jeopardise timely and effective prosecution of the appeal.
Ejimakor noted that there are several correctional facilities closer to Abuja—such as Suleja, Keffi and Kuje—that could easily have accommodated Kanu without compromising security. He maintained that keeping the separatist leader in a distant prison, while critical post‑judgment steps are underway in Abuja, “amounts to a deliberate frustration of his right to challenge the verdict.”
Kanu was recently convicted on seven terrorism‑related counts and handed a life sentence by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, after years of contentious proceedings marked by arrests, bail revocations and jurisdictional disputes. His lawyers have already filed a notice of appeal, vowing to challenge both the conviction and sentence, which they describe as a “travesty of justice” and a punishment for what Kanu allegedly said, not what he did.
With the court’s refusal to order his relocation, Kanu will remain in Sokoto while his team battles on in Abuja, raising fresh questions among observers about access to justice, the treatment of high‑profile detainees and the practical limits of appeal rights in politically sensitive cases.
