The Federal High Court in Abuja struck out an application by Nnamdi Kanu, the convicted leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), seeking to be transferred from the Sokoto Correctional Facility to a custodial centre closer to Abuja.
The motion, filed ex parte (without notifying the other parties), aimed to have Kanu moved to a facility such as Suleja or Keffi Correctional Centre so he could better prepare and prosecute an appeal against his life sentence handed down on November 20, 2025.
At the hearing, Kanu’s counsel, Demdoo Asan of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, informed the court that he intended to withdraw from the matter, citing irreconcilable differences with his client. Asan told the court that Kanu’s relatives had failed to appear to depose supporting affidavits and that the applicant was attempting to dictate how court submissions should be handled—a dynamic the lawyer said he could not accept as an officer of the court.
In his ruling, Justice James Kolawole Omotosho agreed to the withdrawal and described the motion itself as incompetent. He noted that the court’s earlier order requiring the motion to be served on the Federal Government and the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) had not been complied with, as there was no proof of service on record. Without proper service or a motion on notice, the judge held, there was no application for the court to determine.
As a result, Justice Omotosho struck out the motion for lacking competence, leaving Kanu to remain in Sokoto while his legal team considers the next steps.
In reaction, Kanu’s defence has criticized the proceedings as procedural theatre and indicated plans to pursue the matter further on appeal, arguing that the decision does not affect ongoing challenges to his conviction.
