₦airaland Forum

Security has been tightened at the Sokoto Custodial Centre following the transfer of the convicted leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, to the facility.

Kanu was on Thursday sentenced to life imprisonment by the Federal High Court in Abuja after being convicted on terrorism and related charges.

In his ruling, Justice James Omotosho ordered that Kanu be taken to a “protective prison,” noting that the Kuje Custodial Centre in Abuja was unsuitable due to past prison breaks and associated security risks.

On Friday, Kanu’s lawyer, Alloy Ejimakor, alleged that his client had been moved to Sokoto.

Speaking with Saturday PUNCH in Abuja, he said the transfer placed Kanu far from his legal team, family, and supporters, and urged Ndigbo to remain calm.

Although officials of the Sokoto Custodial Centre declined to confirm his arrival, Saturday PUNCH observed unusual security activity around the facility.

Armed personnel were stationed at strategic points within and outside the prison, while a truckload of soldiers drove into the premises—an uncommon development, according to nearby residents.

One resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “We saw soldiers entering in trucks this evening. The security here has never been this tight.”

The spokesperson for the Nigerian Correctional Service, Jane Osuji, confirmed that Kanu was in their custody but declined to disclose his exact location, citing the sensitive nature of the matter.

Wife, Sowore confirm transfer

Kanu’s wife, Uchechi Okwu-Kanu, confirmed on her X handle that her husband had arrived at the Sokoto prison.

“Information reaching me about three hours ago is that my husband has arrived at Sokoto prison,” she wrote, while criticising some supporters for sharing the development online before informing her.

Activist and publisher, Omoyele Sowore, also posted that the government had “secretly” moved Kanu to Sokoto.

He alleged that the relocation exposed him to danger.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, appealed for calm, describing the development as unexpected.

She urged Nigerians, particularly those from the South-East, to avoid actions that could inflame tensions.

“This is not the outcome we anticipated nor prayed for, but a reality now upon us… There is an utmost need for restraint,” she wrote.

The minister added that resolving the matter would require broad-based engagement involving political, religious, and traditional leaders from the region.

Ohanaeze, MASSOB reject life sentence

Igbo socio-cultural and advocacy groups, including Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Igbo National Council, and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, have rejected the life sentence handed to Kanu, describing it as selective justice.

Ohanaeze, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Ezechi Chukwu, said the judgment was “a blow to justice” and warned it could further destabilise the South-East. The group’s President-General, John Azuta-Mbata, called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene and pursue a political solution.

Ohanaeze argued that Kanu’s continued detention had become a catalyst for insecurity and youth radicalisation in the region.

Similarly, the President of the Igbo National Council, Chilos Godsent, claimed the judgment was part of an “ethno-political war” against the Igbo and urged President Tinubu to grant Kanu a presidential pardon.

Also, the National Publicity Secretary of the Ohanaeze Youth Wing, Chika Adiele, described the sentence as an assault on justice, accusing the government of selective persecution.

The leader of MASSOB, Uchenna Madu, also rejected the judgment, calling it politically motivated.

Kanu was first arrested in 2015 on charges including treasonable felony. After fleeing Nigeria, he was re-arrested in Kenya and returned to the country in 2021.

Throwback:
He must not be allowed to commit any further crimes in Prison, being a wild and unrepentant anarchist.

This is how all terrorists should be locked up if neutralised.

1 down, many more to go until Nigeria is well rid of those who want to impose chaos on the country.

I wonder who Igbos blame for the criminal trial and conviction of Simon Ekpa in Finland?

A people devoid of objectivity.

Richtaiwo:
They say lamidi Kanu was only preaching the gospel and never hurt a fly.

Richtaiwo:
They say lamidi Kanu was only preaching the gospel and never hurt a fly.

helinues:
Chai, this life sha. Nnamdi Kanu has added a new title to his name. A convicted terrorist

Kaczynski:
from a purely logical view, the nigerian government executed an effective maneuver to neutralize a high-profile adversary. it's not about right or wrong, its about the efficient application of resources to achieve a desired political outcome.

the agony in the southeast will continue, removing the head does not automatically kill the body especially when the conditions that fostered its growth persist. expect a re-calibration of secessionist strategies potentially leading to more decentralized less visible forms of resistance. the underlying systemic flaws that birthed the movement remain unpatched.

Throwback:
He must not be allowed to commit any further crimes in Prison, being a wild and unrepentant anarchist.

This is how all terrorists should be locked up or neutralised.

1 down, many more to go until Nigeria is well rid of those who want to impose chaos on the country.

I wonder who Igbos blame for the criminal trial and conviction of Simon Ekpa in Finland?

A people devoid of objectivity.

Justice for the many Igbo security agents who were killed in Igboland. Justice for the many Igbo civilians who were killed by the chaos and anarchy that Nnamdi Kanu midwifed.

Thanks to the Nigerian government that prevented the anarchy that Kanu attempted to inflict on the SouthEast.

Imagine the breakdown of law and order that would have engulfed the SouthEast if the Buhari regime had not stepped in to eradicate IPOB's terror and grip on the SouthEast. There would have been no legitimate government in that section of the country at the rate Kanu was determined to impose himself and his group as the forced leaders of the Igbo people.

iamfraud:
Nnamdi Kanu should have come to his senses after six months in Sokoto prison.

Mbanda:
My question still remains, when did yorobahs start to dey care about Igbos that they now claim they want Kanu kpaid or jailed for the sake of the same Igbos they are destroying their properties in ekoo?

MaziObinnaokija:
A simple I AM "SORRY",appeal for leniency, sober,foe don settle this.instead,oga dey insulted everybody drag/slapped his lawyer/spit on judge..I PITY HIM

iamfraud:
he was also caught on camera pushing DSS officers

Throwback:
Those people are a disgrace to education.

Same way Simon Ekpa never hurt a fly and was only making threats that were being executed, yet he was duly prosecuted and convicted in Finland that does not have a Yoruba President or Yoruba Judge.

I repeat, the likes of gidgiddy, owobokiri, MrVitalis and the rest of the Igbo clansmen, the daughters of discord, and the children of hate, are a painful reminder that education does not succeed all times.

Finally, we reconfirm what many already knew about the Igbo Obidients. They are mostly IPOB supporters.

P OBI = IPOB

DomPerignon:
When did they tell you they cared about what is going on in your SE?

They are however right to point you to the carnage that Kanu induced in your SE which is seeing most of your people relocate to Lagos and Abuja.

Mbanda:
If you are indeed telling the truth (which you are not) when is the essence of threads like this from the ronus and why are dey rejoicing?

DomPerignon:
How is the original post here on this thread and the topic itself pandering to ibo sympathy ?

No one cared if you burn down your SE with your own hands as long as you kept that shit there.

Mbanda:
No one cares but na yorobbahh president, prosecutor and juhdge sentenced Kanu and na still yorobbahhs dey rejoice ever since KANU was convicted. And you want us to believe otherwise?

DomPerignon:
The FG is expected to maintain the laws of the land.

Since Kanu's case began these are the original prosecuting team which the former AGF, a northern Muslim assembled and to which the former CJN also a northerner, assigned to a northern Muslim judge whom kanu forced to rescue herself.

Throwback:
He must not be allowed to commit any further crimes in Prison, being a wild and unrepentant anarchist.

This is how all terrorists should be locked up or neutralised.

1 down, many more to go until Nigeria is well rid of those who want to impose chaos on the country.

I wonder who Igbos blame for the criminal trial and conviction of Simon Ekpa in Finland?

A people devoid of objectivity.

Justice for the many Igbo security agents who were killed in Igboland. Justice for the many Igbo civilians who were killed by the chaos and anarchy that Nnamdi Kanu midwifed.

Thanks to the Nigerian government that prevented the anarchy that Kanu attempted to inflict on the SouthEast.

Imagine the breakdown of law and order that would have engulfed the SouthEast if the Buhari regime had not stepped in to eradicate IPOB's terror and grip on the SouthEast. There would have been no legitimate government in that section of the country at the rate Kanu was determined to impose himself and his group as the forced leaders of the Igbo people.

Mbanda:
You can twist this issue all you want, it will still not change the fact that, it is the yorobbahhs that sentenced KANU. And this is what the fulani government of Buhari dodged for years. Yorobbahhs wan form galadimah.

My happiness is that any day the north wants to raise against yorobbahhs the Igbos will join the north in solidarity. No more "we the south" yorobbahhs always shout whenever they sensed foul play from the north.

iamfraud:
https://punchng.com/heavy-security-at-sokoto-prison-over-nnamdi-kanus-arrival/?amp