Human-rights activist and presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has raised alarm over an alleged covert transfer of detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, to a correctional facility in Sokoto State.
Sowore made the claim on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Monday, warning that the move could endanger Kanu’s safety.
It would be recalled that the embattled IPOB leader was convicted of terrorism and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Federal High Court Abuja on Thursday.
According to Sowore, the Federal Government under President Bola Tinubu has “secretly moved” the separatist leader from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS). He alleged that the decision was part of a broader plan to isolate Kanu from his support base.
“Yes, they have already planned it. Their intention is to move @MaziNnamdiKanu to a notorious prison based in the northern parts where his safety cannot be guaranteed,” Sowore wrote. He added that “it is now confirmed that they secretly moved him to Sokoto prison earlier today.”
Sowore also claimed that officials had openly dismissed calls to relocate Kanu to the Kuje correctional centre in Abuja. According to him, authorities argued that Kanu “would ‘become a king’ if taken to Kuje correctional center in Abuja, because according to them ‘Igbo people’ and his supporters would turn Kuje into a place of pilgrimage.”
He accused the administration of deliberately keeping the IPOB leader “far away, isolated, and vulnerable,” while feeding the public with what he described as an illusion of hope. “It is also why they activated their cronies to start selling the illusion of ‘renewed hope’ for MNK — a psychological tactic to keep the public calm while they execute their darkest agenda,” he said.
Sowore further alleged that there was no intention within the political structure to free Kanu, even for strategic or electoral considerations. “Their plan is simple, it is to keep your hopes alive just long enough for him to die in custody,” he claimed.
In a sharp critique of political leaders from Kanu’s home region, Sowore argued they were complicit in the continued detention of the separatist figure. “I have said it before without fear, MNK’s greatest enemies are the politicians from his own region. They fear his influence, they fear his connection to the people, and they want him silenced permanently,” he stated, recalling the resistance faced by activists during the #FreeNnamdiKanuNOW protests.
He ended his post with a warning to supporters and Nigerians at large: “Do not say I didn’t warn you. #RevolutionNow.”
As of press time, the Federal Government and the Nigerian Correctional Service have not issued any official response to the allegations.