The Federal High Court in Abuja has set December 8 for a hearing on Nnamdi Kanu’s motion, seeking to be transferred from Sokoto Correctional Facility to a prison closer to Abuja.
Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was sentenced to life imprisonment on November 20 for terrorism offences and is currently in Sokoto.
The motion, personally signed by Kanu, requests the transfer due to the difficulty of preparing his appeal from Sokoto, over 700km from Abuja.
He wants to exercise his right to appeal without hindrance, citing Section 36 of the Constitution.
In court on Thursday, Kanu’s brother Prince Emmanuel tried to represent him, but Judge James Omotosho ruled that only a legal practitioner can move the application.
Omotosho advised Emmanuel to hire a lawyer or seek help from the Legal Aid Council, saying, “You can’t represent a human being when you’re not a lawyer.”
The judge also clarified that Kanu doesn’t need to be in court for his appeal record to be compiled, contrary to claims by one of Kanu’s former lawyers, Aloy Ejimakor.
Omotosho cautioned against misleading the public and adjourned the case to December 8 for hearing.
