United States military strikes on Christmas Day targeting alleged terrorists in Sokoto State have sparked renewed controversy over the safety of detention facilities in northern Nigeria, with the legal team of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, calling for his relocation.
In a statement shared on X on Friday, Aloy Ejimakor, Special Counsel to Kanu, argued that the reported US action confirms long-standing claims that Sokoto is “riddled with terrorists” and therefore unsuitable as a secure environment for the custody or transfer of high-profile detainees.
“The US military strike against terrorists in Sokoto has finally confirmed that Sokoto is riddled with terrorists and thus was never a safe place of custody for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,” Ejimakor said. “It is now more urgent that he be transferred outside the terrorist belt in Northern Nigeria.”
Kanu, the jailed IPOB leader, has been at the centre of prolonged legal and political disputes since his arrest and extradition to Nigeria in 2021.
His supporters have consistently raised concerns about his safety, alleging that insecurity in parts of northern Nigeria poses a serious risk to his life and undermines his right to humane treatment.
Kanu is being held at the Sokoto Correctional Centre after his transfer following Justice James Omotosho’s life imprisonment sentence in November 2025 for terrorism.
The court also handed him a 20-year jail term on count three and a five-year jail term on count seven, both without an option of fine.
Justice Omotosho delivered the judgement after convicting the IPOB leader on all seven counts of terrorism-related offences.
Although the judgement has attracted widespread condemnation, Kanu has indicated his intention to challenge the conviction and sentence at the appellate court.
