A member of the legal team representing the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has dismissed reports claiming that the separatist leader was stabbed or attacked at the Sokoto Custodial Centre.
Maxwell Opara, one of Kanu’s lawyers, described the reports as false and misleading, insisting that his client remains safe in custody.
Speaking in a video shared on his social media page on Friday, Opara said there was no incident involving an attack on Kanu at the correctional facility.
“I want to start by telling you that nobody stabbed Nnamdi Kanu and nobody attacked him. He is here in the Correctional Centre in Sokoto,” Opara said.
Kanu is currently serving a life sentence at the Sokoto Custodial Centre following his conviction by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja. After the judgment, he was transferred from Abuja to Sokoto to serve his sentence.
Opara also addressed reports surrounding a case at the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, seeking Kanu’s transfer to the Kuje Correctional Centre to enable him access medical care.
He explained that the appeal, which was filed in 2022 after an initial loss at the Federal High Court, was struck out by the appellate court last week on the grounds that it had become academic following Kanu’s conviction and sentencing.
“When the matter came up, the court held that it had become academic and struck it out,” Opara said.
The lawyer further clarified why Kanu was moved to Sokoto rather than being kept in Abuja, stating that the decision was based on specific security considerations outlined in the trial court’s judgment.
According to him, Justice Omotosho explicitly mentioned Sokoto as the designated correctional facility in both the judgment and the remand warrant.
“We tried to confirm why he was taken to Sokoto, and the correctional authorities told us that the judge specifically mentioned Sokoto in the judgment. That was why he was moved there,” Opara added.
The clarification comes amid growing speculation and misinformation on social media regarding Kanu’s safety and conditions in custody.
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