The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja with a fresh application seeking his transfer from the Sokoto Correctional Facility, citing difficulties in pursuing his appeal from the distant location.
Kanu, who was recently convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment on terrorism related charges, filed a motion ex parte personally signed by him. He argued that his continued detention in Sokoto, over 700 kilometres from Abuja, would severely hinder his constitutional right to effectively appeal his conviction.
The application, marked FHC ABJ CR 383 2015, was presented before trial Justice James Omotosho on Thursday by his younger brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu. In the motion, Kanu stated that following his sentencing on November 20, the court ordered his detention in any correctional facility in Nigeria except the Kuje Correctional Centre.
According to him, he was transferred to the Sokoto Custodial Centre on November 21 and is presently being held there without legal representation.
Kanu said his appeal process requires personal interface with the registry of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal in Abuja. He added that all individuals critical to assisting his appeal, including his relatives, associates and legal consultants, are based in Abuja.
He contended that his continued detention in Sokoto renders his right of appeal impracticable and exposes him to exceptional hardship, contrary to Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
He therefore urged the court to compel the Federal Government and the Nigerian Correctional Service to immediately transfer him to a custodial facility within Abuja. In the alternative, he requested transfer to centres within the court’s immediate environs such as Suleja or Keffi.
However, Justice Omotosho declined to grant audience to Emmanuel Kanu, who appeared to move the application on behalf of his brother. The judge ruled that only a qualified legal practitioner could move such an application in court.
He advised the applicant to engage the services of a lawyer or approach the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria for proper representation.
The judge stressed that relatives cannot represent a convict in court and cautioned against attempts to misinform the public on the legal processes surrounding the case.
Justice Omotosho also dismissed claims earlier made by one of Kanu’s former legal advisers that his detention location was preventing the compilation of the record of appeal, stating that the presence of a convict is not required for that process.
The matter was subsequently adjourned till December 8 for proper hearing.
