Inmates declare Nnamdi Kanu president inside Sokoto Prisons
By Idun Maximus
The inmates in Sokoto Prisons have unanimously declared the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu their president even as the facility has come alive since it received the freedom fighter.
AbeyaNews gathered that the IPOB leader received a rousing welcome from inmates at the Sokoto Prisons with many of them jubilating on hearing that the vocal Biafran agitator has joined them.
Kanu was recently sentenced to life imprisonment by Justice James Omotosho after he was found guilty on all seven counts of terrorism offences.
The seven counts against him relate to his secessionist agitations, acts of terrorism, membership of a proscribed group, killing of security operatives, destruction of public property, concealment, and the importation of an unregistered radio transmitter.
The IPOB leader, who had been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja while his protracted trial lasted, was moved to Sokoto Prisons after he was sentenced to life jail.
But AbeyaNews gathered that drama erupted upon his arrival inside Sokoto Prisons as inmates unanimously declared him the “Prison President”.
Witnesses said the inmates scrambled to get close enough to shake his hand, calling him “a man who speaks the truth without fear.”
A senior prison official, who declined to be mentioned, said: “Kanu has practically turned his cell block into a mini Radio Biafra. Even those who once opposed him now sit quietly to listen. The surprising part is that nobody forces them—his words pull them.”
The official further revealed that the IPOB leader has transformed the atmosphere in the facility dramatically:
“Whether people agree with his ideology or not, nobody denies that he talks boldly, fearlessly, and with deep conviction. That alone has made him a prominent figure in this place.”
In a controversial trial on terrorism, the presiding judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja, Justice Kolawole Omotosho convicted Kanu on all seven counts of terrorism offences. For count three, concerning his membership of a proscribed terrorist group, he was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment without an option of fine.
On count seven, which involved the unlawful importation of a radio transmitter for the purpose of broadcasting activities via Radio Biafra, Justice Omotosho sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment without an option of fine.
The judge noted that Kanu’s statements threatening violence, including directives for sit-at-home orders in the South-East, constituted acts of terrorism under Nigerian law.
“A person who is found guilty of the offence may receive the maximum penalty of death,” Justice Omotosho said.
The court stated that Kanu’s broadcasts, including threats that “the Army of Nigeria will die” and that “everything called Nigeria will perish,” were designed to promote the breakaway of the South-East, South-South, and parts of the Middle Belt to form a Biafra nation.
While the law permits the death penalty for such offences, Justice Omotosho said he had chosen to temper justice with mercy, guided by Christian principles.
“I have reviewed the file from the inception of this matter in 2015. The convict has exhibited unruly behaviour throughout. Nevertheless, this court will exercise mercy, as enjoined by the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ”, he said.
The judge said due to the potential threat to Kanu’s safety given the number of killings associated with his directives, Kuje Correctional Centre would not be suitable. The judge, therefore, ordered that Kanu be held in protective custody at a secure facility elsewhere in Nigeria.
He also ordered that Kanu must not have access to any digital device and that the imported transmitter be forfeited to the Federal Government.
