Detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to order his immediate transfer from the Sokoto Correctional Centre, insisting that the facility’s distance from the capital is obstructing his right to appeal his conviction.
Kanu, who was recently sentenced to life imprisonment on terrorism charges, made the request in a motion ex parte he personally signed.
The application was formally presented in court on Thursday by his younger brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu.
In the motion, the IPOB leader argued that his transfer to Sokoto—over 700 kilometres from Abuja—has created “exceptional hardship” and made it practically impossible to prepare and file his appeal.
He stated, “On the 21st of November 2025, the applicant was transferred to, and is currently detained at the Sokoto Correctional Facility, which is over 700 kilometres from Abuja.”
Kanu, who currently has no legal representation, said he intends to personally exercise his constitutional right to appeal his conviction and sentence.
However, he told the court that preparing his notice and record of appeal requires direct access to the court registries in Abuja.
“All persons critical to assisting the applicant in preparing his appeal, including his relatives, associates and legal consultants, are based in Abuja,” the motion read.
He further argued that keeping him in Sokoto “renders his constitutional right to appeal impracticable, occasioning exceptional hardship and potentially defeating the said right, in violation of Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution.”
The court is expected to fix a date to hear the application.
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