A federal high court sitting in Abuja has struck out an application filed by Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, seeking his transfer from the Sokoto correctional facility.
Gatekeepers News reports that Kanu was moved to Sokoto prison after he was convicted on November 20, 2025, on seven terrorism-related charges by the federal high court in Abuja. He is currently serving his sentence while pursuing an appeal against the conviction.
In the application filed before the court, Kanu asked for an order directing the federal government or the Nigerian Correctional Service to move him from Sokoto to a custodial centre within Abuja or nearby locations such as Suleja or Keffi. He argued that the transfer was necessary to allow him effectively exercise his right of appeal.
The court had earlier ruled that the request could not be heard as an ex parte motion and directed that the respondents be formally served so they could respond.
When the case was called on Tuesday, Demdoo Asan, a senior legal officer from the Legal Aid Council who appeared for Kanu, informed the court that he was withdrawing from the case due to unresolved issues with the applicant.
“Since the last adjourned date, I have been on constant phone communication with the relatives of the applicant,” he said.
“However, the relatives of the applicant didn’t show up at our office to depose to the application. Despite phone calls and promises to show up. Also, the applicant wants to dictate the tune of the matter; he wants to control what counsel would say. He wants to write down what I would say while in court. But, as an officer of the court, I can’t, in good faith, accept that.”
Asan said his superiors at the Legal Aid Council agreed with his decision, after which he formally applied to withdraw as counsel.
James Omotosho, the presiding judge, granted the request and praised the lawyer for maintaining professional standards. “Having listened to counsel from the Legal Aid Council, I will grant leave for the counsel and the legal aid generally, to withdraw from representing the defendant convict,” Omotosho said.
Ruling on the application for transfer, the judge said the motion was incompetent and noted that there was no evidence that the required parties had been served, despite the court’s earlier directive. He said no proof of service had been presented between December 8, 2025, and January 27.
“The motion ex parte is struck out for lacking competence,” Omotosho ruled.
