• Justice Omotosho declines ex-parte request by Nnamdi Kanu
• Court insists FG, Correctional Service must be heard first
• Case adjourned to January 27 for full hearing
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The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday refused an ex-parte application by the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, seeking his immediate relocation from the Sokoto Correctional Centre to a facility closer to the Federal Capital Territory.
Kanu, acting through the Legal Aid Council, had asked the court to order his transfer to either the Kuje Custodial Centre in Abuja or the Keffi Custodial Centre in Nasarawa State. He argued that being held in Sokoto was hindering his ability to properly pursue his constitutional right of appeal and placed him outside the court’s territorial jurisdiction.
But Justice James Omotosho rejected the emergency request, ruling that it would be unfair to issue such an order without first hearing from the Federal Government and the Nigerian Correctional Service, who are listed as respondents.
The court directed Kanu’s lawyers to convert the ex-parte motion into a motion on notice, serve all parties, and return for a substantive hearing. Justice Omotosho fixed January 27, 2026 for the matter.
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Monday’s ruling comes barely a week after the same court declined to recognise Kanu’s younger brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, who had attempted to speak in court on his behalf despite not being a licensed legal practitioner.
