Court Refuses Kanu’s Ex Parte Motion for Transfer from Sokoto Prison
A Federal High Court in Abuja has refused to grant an ex parte motion filed by the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, seeking his transfer from the Sokoto Correctional Facility.
Kanu, who was convicted of terrorism charges and sentenced to life imprisonment on November 20, 2025, had approached the court to order his transfer to a custodial centre within the court’s jurisdiction, such as Kuje, Suleja, or Keffi.
In the motion moved on Monday by his counsel, Demdoo Asan of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria (LACON), Kanu argued that his current detention in Sokoto, over 700 kilometres from Abuja, makes it impossible for him to effectively prosecute his appeal.
However, the presiding judge, Justice James Omotosho, declined the application, ruling that the reliefs sought—specifically an order “compelling” the Federal Government and the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS)— could not be granted without hearing from the respondents.
“You are from Legal Aid Council counsel? Do you think it is by ex parte motion this application ought to be granted, having it in mind that judgment was delivered when the two parties were present?” Justice Omotosho queried the lawyer.
The judge further asked: “Also, among the respondents to obey the order is the correctional service, and you think it is through ex parte motion that the court can make the order for his transfer? Don’t you think this application should have come by motion on notice?”.
In response, Kanu’s lawyer admitted that the respondents needed to be put on notice for the matter to be decided judiciously.
Consequently, the court struck out the first relief sought in the motion and ordered that the Federal Government and NCoS be served to enable them to respond.
The case has been adjourned to January 27, 2026, for the hearing of the motion on notice.
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