Sowore Alleges Secret Transfer of Kanu to Sokoto Prison

Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore has claimed that the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has been secretly moved from the Department of State Services (DSS) custody to a correctional center in Sokoto State. The alleged transfer comes immediately after Kanu was sentenced to life imprisonment on Thursday after being convicted on multiple terrorism-related charges.

Sowore made the startling allegation in a statement posted on his official Facebook page, asserting that the move was pre-planned by the current administration. “The Tinubu Regime Has Secretly Transferred Nnamdi Kanu to Sokoto Prison,” Sowore wrote.

The activist claimed that the government’s intention since the conviction was to transfer Kanu to a “notorious prison based in the northern parts” of the country, where, he suggested, “his safety cannot be guaranteed.” Sowore stated that he could confirm that the separatist leader is “already in Sokoto prison.”

Sowore provided an alleged rationale for bypassing the more conventional facility, the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja. He claimed authorities believed Kanu would “become a king” if detained at Kuje because “Igbo people” and his supporters would turn the facility “into a place of pilgrimage.” The activist asserted that the objective of moving him far away is to keep Kanu “isolated, and vulnerable.”

The activist further alleged that the government is utilizing a psychological tactic, activating “crones to start selling the illusion of ‘renewed hope’ for MNK” to keep the public calm while they execute what he termed their “darkest agenda.” He stated his belief that the government has “no intention of releasing him” and that their plan is simply to “keep your hopes alive just long enough for him to die in custody.”

In a final political indictment, Sowore reiterated his long-standing belief that Kanu’s greatest enemies are not just the federal authorities but also “politicians from his own region.” He alleged that these political rivals “fear his influence” and “want him silenced permanently,” claiming they actively worked to frustrate his past #FreeNnamdiKanuNOW protests.

The claims of a secret transfer to a distant correctional facility have not been officially confirmed by either the DSS or the Nigerian Correctional Service, but they instantly ratchet up the tension surrounding the controversial life sentence.